Speed Me Towards Death
by aceoaddict
Summary: Vanessa Reynolds never expected to find herself at Spenser Academy, knee deep in magic and reluctantly falling into the arms of a Son of Ipswich...
1. Chapter 1

Rain fell on the sleepy town of Ipswich, and for the first time in a long time, Vanessa began to grow worried. Was there any sense in what she was about to do? Was there any sense in any of this at all? She sighed and ran a hand through her short blond hair, thoughts that she couldn't control racing through her brain. Memories that she'd prefer stay forgotten crept their way back to the surface. Each beat of a raindrop felt like a pounding in her head as arguments and broken statements echoed through her mind.

_"It doesn't matter anymore."_ Vanessa reminded herself. _"It's done. Over and done. Nothing can change it now."_ But even as she thought the words, her heart did not believe them, and this Vanessa knew above all things. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't give up that little piece of hope. No matter how hard she tried, she'd just keep getting her heart broken.

"Okay, this is the place." Vanessa turned to glance out the window, glaring at the sight before her. It just figured that she'd end up here, when where she really needed to be was at home. She glared at her stepfather with all the anger and loathing she could muster with the need to sleep tugging at the back of her fraying mind. "Well, they're expecting you."

"Can't wait to be rid of me, huh?" she growled. He sighed and clutched the steering wheel, seemingly in an effort to control his anger, though Vanessa knew better. Will Reynolds was anything but an easy-going, make-an-effort-to-do-anything kind of guy. She knew that from eight years of experience.

"Vanessa, I'm trying to make this a pleasant experience." Will replied. Vanessa scoffed. "Fine, I'm trying to make this a fast trip so I can make it back to the hospital."

"You don't have to make it a _fast trip_." Vanessa snapped. "You can take me to the hospital instead of shipping me off to some B.S. academy."

"Your mother wants you in school." Will said through clenched teeth. Vanessa laughed.

"Yeah, mom wants me in school." she said. "And you want to blow all her money on your gambling debts." Will threw open the door and grabbed her duffel bag from the back seat, giving it one good toss in the mud.

"Get out. Now." he growled. Vanessa sat in the car for a long moment, considering her options. At this point, there was nothing she could do. The school was expecting her, and she knew that her mother would be comforted to know that Vanessa was finally settling into a decent place and making friends, not that her mother could really care much at this point, anyway. She sighed. If there was anything good about this situation at all, or anything she could for her mother, it would be this. She bit the inside of her mouth and swallowed her pride, stepping out of the car and slamming the door.

It took Will all of two seconds to get back in and drive away, as if he had never been there at all. Hell, for all Vanessa could care, he might as well not have.

She took one last look at the towering building before her. Spenser Academy – created to educate the elite of the town of Ipswich. "Elite." she muttered. "What a joke."

She walked over and grabbed her duffel bag from the mud, dragging it across the steps as she ascended to the front door. She walked forward and opened the door, gazing at a busy hallway and suddenly remembering exactly how much she hated people. "What the hell." she whispered to herself. "What choice have I got?"

It took her a few minutes to navigate, as she wasn't exactly the type to stop and ask for directions. Never the less, she made her way to office in decent time and soon found herself face-to-face with the wicked witch of the west. At least, her face sort of looked like it had been melted. "Is there something I can do for you?" she asked in a rickety old voice. Vanessa bit her tongue and struggled against her nature to be polite – it wasn't something she did often anymore. Actually, she didn't really even talk to anyone anymore.

"My name's Vanessa Reynolds. I'm a transfer student." Vanessa said cautiously. The woman looked down at some papers on her desk, and Vanessa leaned on the counter, her mind refusing to slow down. It caught onto any little thing it could, a simple phrase on the poster on the wall, or something she overhead someone say, and somehow began a running monologue. She was lost in her thoughts when the door to the right opened, and out came a student looking about as annoyed as she felt. She looked away quickly and shifted how she stood, the aching in her bad knee beginning to bother her. She was comforted, somehow, to know that she was not the only one here who was pissed off, even if she didn't show it. He smirked, and she could feel his eyes on her as he left the office.

"Ah, here you are." the old woman said. She pulled out some papers and placed them on the counter in front of Vanessa. "This is a map of the school - note where the dining hall and the infirmary are. Keep this with you the first few days. It's a big place, and it's easy to get lost." she said, cycling through the pages. "This is your class schedule. Seniors have all of their classes at this side of the school, so if you find yourself anywhere else, you've gone too far. This is your dorm room number, it's been marked on the map, and your roommate is waiting for your arrival. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Got any Prozac?" Vanessa asked. The woman frowned. "No, Ma'am. I'm good."

"Good. Welcome to Spenser Academy." she said. "You'd best be off, now. You've got a busy day ahead of you."

"Right." Vanessa replied, throwing her muddy duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbing the papers, feeling slightly satisfied about the giant patch of mud that was now all over the office floor. It was cathartic, in a passive, less fun kind of way. _Ah well,_ Vanessa mused. _I'll just have to find ways to entertain myself later._

_llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll_

"HI! I'm Elisha! I'm your new roommate!" _Dear God, kill me now._ Vanessa stared in wonder at the bright, blond, ecstatic-looking girl before her, clad in cheerleader uniform, bright blue eyes, and big blond curls. It was her worst nightmare. She glanced down at herself, in her faded, torn blue jeans and Veruca Salt t-shirt. She kicked herself mentally, several times. This was going to be a damn long year. "You're Vanessa, right? I love that name, Vanessa. It's _so_ sweet sounding!" She latched onto Vanessa's arm happily. "I think you and I are going to be _great_ friends." For the first time since she had been dragged out of the house four days ago, Vanessa was actually starting to miss the smell of pot drifting down the halls.

_But then again, _Vanessa thought, _this chick's high enough for the both of us._

"You've totally got to come to this party tonight!" Elisha shouted suddenly. Her voice was high-pitched and she reminded Vanessa of a mouse - a very cheerful mouse. One that probably was not aware that cats actually did exist. "There'll be great music, and _tons_ of hot guys there. Including Aaron…" Elisha's voice trailed off. "What I wouldn't do with him!" Elisha tugged on Vanessa's arm. "Oh, please say you're coming. It'll be so much fun! PLEASE!!"

"Uh…" Vanessa searched her mind for a valid excuse that would get Elisha off her back. For the night would be nice, but for the rest of her senior year would be even better. Sadly, however, Vanessa's brain was still half occupied with the cute boy from the office. The other half was plotting something cruel and very painful to do to her stepfather. "Sure, I guess." Vanessa flinched as she said the words. Had she actually just agreed to go to a party? To play nice with the other kids while they secretly made fun of her behind her back? To spend an entire evening being social, and polite, and pretend that her entire world wasn't slowing falling apart, piece by piece, by dainty little piece?

Had she really fallen so far from where she once had been, so many years ago, when she wanted to be kind, and considerate, and please people?

Elisha began to dance around the room, shifting through the clothes in her closet and talking about make-up and what she was going to wear, and Vanessa found that she could do nothing but stand there. She was too stunned, too overwhelmed. And then it came – that familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head and ran her hand through her hair once again. "I am _so_ going to regret this." she muttered to herself. Vanessa threw herself down on her bed and closed her eyes, feeling the tension in her shoulders fade ever so slightly.

_The sun was rising, painting the sky in orange and purple. It reflected off the lake, almost to the point where it was blinding. She slipped her toes into the water, sighing as she waited. The wind blew, a warm caress against her skin, which felt old and beaten, and no longer her own. It was warm, but she felt so very, very cold. "Daddy… I need you…"_

"Good morning, sleepy head!" Elisha squealed, and Vanessa wondered if she was naturally that high, or just what her medicine cabinet was filled with. And how she could get some.

"Morning?" Vanessa groaned. Had she slept that long? Elisha frowned.

"Well, evening actually." Elisha admitted. "Good thing, too, or you'd have missed the party!" _Ah, yes. The party…_

"About that…" Vanessa began. _Quick, girl, think of an excuse!_ "I don't think I can make it." Elisha looked crestfallen, and Vanessa felt a sudden pang of guilt hit her as she found herself in a dilemma. She desperately, _desperately_ did not want to go to the party, but she also didn't feel like starting out her relationship with her roommate by disappointing her, even if Vanessa's plans involved leaving as soon as possible.

"O-oh. Um, okay." Elisha choked out. Vanessa was mentally kicking herself as she watched Elisha slide on her coat and head towards the door. "Okay, well, um… I'll just…"

"Let's go." Vanessa said, half angry with herself for giving in, half of her still holding on to that little spark of hope that just wouldn't die. She sat in the bed and gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror across the room. When she was satisfied that she looked semi-decent, she stood up, grabbed her coat, and followed her roommate, who was as giddy as could be, out.

The halls were quiet. It was winter, and the sun had set earlier than she was used to. The moon cast shadows everywhere she looked, and as she followed Elisha, who seemed sure and confident about where she was going and exactly what she was doing, she couldn't help but be struck by the menacing feeling that seemed to engulf her like a cloak. She had to force each step and ignore the pounding of her heart as it sounded deafeningly in her ears.

They reached the end of the hall, and as Vanessa held the door open and took her final step to leave the dorm, she gazed back at the darkened hall and gulped, trying to slow her heart beat. There was something about the school, something about Ipswich, which just didn't feel right.

Vanessa clutched her coat closed to ward off the winter chill as Elisha drove them to an expensive part of town. Vanessa couldn't help but gawk at the mansion where said party was taking place. She had to remind herself to breathe, and that it wasn't the first time she'd been to a place like this, but even as she scolded herself, she noticed that Elisha was trying very hard to do exactly the same thing. Vanessa felt oddly comforted.

"So uh…." Vanessa began. "Whose house did you say this was?" Elisha took a moment to find her words.

"Kate Tunney." she choked out. Vanessa stepped out of the car and scaled the building with her eyes. _Okay, so maybe I haven't been to places like… __**this**__…_ "It's amazing, right?"

"Well, yeah." Vanessa said, chuckling. "Amazing. Stunning." She shook her head as she saw people heading in, nodding to Elisha, people talking and laughing, having a good time. "Intimidating." she added, without meaning to. Elisha laughed.

"Don't worry." Elisha said, grabbing Vanessa's arm. "It'll be fun!" Vanessa scoffed.

"Fun. Right." she mumbled, feeling the butterflies in her stomach do back flips. Had she brushed her teeth? What if her breath smelled bad? Was her hair spiky enough that it had that cute, just out of bed look? …Didn't she _just_ get out of bed?

They scaled the steps, Vanessa's nerves all on fire. If she'd had any relief from her nap, the tension that had disappeared was returning. Hell, it was getting worse. Elisha opened the door and looked back on Vanessa. "Vanessa Reynolds, welcome to Spenser Academy." she squealed with a grin, prompting Vanessa to take a step inside. Vanessa reluctantly stepped in. _Breathe… just breathe… It can't possibly be as bad as you're imagining._

"Isn't this amazing!" Elisha squealed from behind her. "Okay, let's make the rounds. I'm totally going to have to introduce you to _everyone_."

"Everyone?" Vanessa whined. She had been hoping to make it through this nightmare without knowing anyone. That was the way she preferred it - no one to say goodbye to, no one sorry to see her go. It was how she survived. Elisha grabbed her arm and pulled Vanessa along, pointing out people as she moved.

"Okay, that girl is Susan. She's dating that guy over there, Malcolm. He's _so_ hot right now. That's…" Vanessa followed Elisha's line of sight, but by the time she had named everyone she saw, she was positive that Susan was Malcolm and Malcolm was Susan. Or perhaps that wasn't Susan. Had she mistaken Susan for Jenna, who was making out with her boyfriend, Tom? Vanessa sorely hoped that she wasn't completely inept, and that it was actually Malcolm that she saw making out with Tom, but she couldn't be sure. "I wonder where Aaron is…" she murmured, before wandering off. Vanessa supposed she was off to find Aaron, and half hoped that it would take a while.

She changed her mind a few minutes later, as she stood in the corner of the large rooms, with nothing to do and no one to talk to. It wasn't like she was unfamiliar with the experience. She was used to being the new girl, or the weird kid, or the person that just didn't fit. It didn't change the fact that as she stood there, trying with every fiber of her being to feel… okay, that every little piece of her felt as though it was being ripped into tiny little pieces on the ground.

Someone moved past her, chatting with a friend. They muttered a tiny excuse me as they bumped past her, then ignored her and continued on with their business. Her eyes gazed over the room as the pounding of her heart, that she'd been trying to calm, began to grow a little more erratic. Her palms grew sweaty, and she blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill. She refused to break down. _Not here_, she promised herself. Not until she was long gone from this place, where she was alone and safe. Then she would cry for the home that she missed and the people she loved, but not a moment before.

Vanessa stood as tall as she could, sudden determination surging through her. She held her head high, and she stood in her corner, as what seemed to be the entire student body passed her by. Songs began and ended, couples danced, changed partners, then found each other again and made out on the couches, or chairs, or whatever they could find. People drank whatever filled their cups, and when they were empty, they reached for another glass. It was an endless cycle, and Vanessa was the observer.

If she had known that she were the one being observed, she would probably have turned tail and run, but it wasn't until after she locked eyes with someone near her that she realized anyone had noticed her at all, and she found that preferred being invisible.

But it wasn't just any someone – it was the boy from the office earlier that day. The boy whose face had mirrored her emotions, at a time when she would not let her own do so. Blond hair fell around deep green eyes, and for some strange reason, Vanessa felt that he could see right through her.

The moment disappeared as quickly as it had come, and the boy looked away, turning to his friends and chuckling at something someone had said. Vanessa sighed, in either relief or disappointment. She didn't know. She could never really tell. Never the less, she felt the urge to move, to be anywhere but in that one corner anymore. She had been seen, she had been noticed. She was suddenly… vulnerable. She tried to move, willed her mind to move her legs, tried desperately to take even a tiny step forward, but her legs were frozen. She cursed herself and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before forcing herself to take a step, in any direction that she could manage, as long as she was no longer in that corner.

But where would she go? It wasn't like she knew the place, and Elisha had long since disappeared in the crowd. She sighed and took a few paces, glancing around the room and trying not to bump into anyone. She eventually found herself by a table with cups laid out on it, her imagination left to wonder exactly what was in the cups. She had a pretty good idea, however.

It wasn't long before she found herself in exactly the same position as before, people passing her by, ignoring her. It was the way she liked things, right? The way that she wanted them… Or maybe what she really wanted was to walk right up to that guy and say, "Hey, I'm Vanessa. I don't like parties, I don't want to be here, and in a few days, I'll probably just disappear into the night, never to seen or heard from again. Want to be friends?" Either way, it was not something that she was going to do, and… Vanessa froze. Maybe it was something that she wouldn't have to.

"You disappeared." He had to yell to be heard over the music, but he didn't seem to mind. He seemed to like drawing that extra little bit of attention.

"It's my specialty." Vanessa replied. Her fight or flight instincts were telling her to take flight, but she found that she couldn't. Not when he was so close. He smirked at her words. A cocky, devious smirk and Vanessa got the distinct impression that he was probably a trouble maker. He held out his hand.

"I'm Reid." Vanessa stared down at his hand for a long moment, considering. It was the thing she'd been waiting for, the thing that her mother had always wanted for her. To meet new people, make real friends. That was what shaking Reid's hand represented, her chance for a different life. At least, in that one climactic moment, that was how it seemed to her. Reid watched her with apprehension as she reached out and took his head.

"I'm Vanessa." _I don't like parties, and I don't want to be here, but you have the greenest eyes I've ever seen_. Vanessa mentally thanked whatever Gods may be listening that she didn't say that last part out loud. She thought for a moment, wondering what to do next. She was never any good at this kind of thing. "Do you know what's in the cups?" Reid's expression never changed, but there was something in his eyes that made Vanessa shiver. It was as though he were sizing her up, judging her. But there was mischief and anger there as well. Lots of anger, which made him brash and reckless, and most assuredly brought as much trouble to him as he himself sought out.

And something else… something that Vanessa almost couldn't read, it seemed so small, and it was so hidden. And then, it seemed that Vanessa had grown so lost in his eyes, in doing what she did, that she hadn't heard what he'd said. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Huh?" Vanessa asked. He chuckled at her and grinned. It was not a bad grin, she decided. _But if he actually smiled, __he__ would look so much more attractive._

"I said do you want to dance?" Reid asked, apparently for the second time. Vanessa was surprised and happy… and also…

"I uh- I can't dance." Vanessa said. Reid feigned a wounded look just as a new song started.

"Come on…" he commanded, grabbing her hand. Vanessa tried to pull away as he dragged her out of the corner, but he had a strong grip, and he wasn't about to let go. Vanessa didn't want to cause a scene. Not there, not then, during the party that her insane roommate had invited her to, but she didn't have much of a choice. The second they made it to the designated dance floor, and Reid looked at her with those mischievous eyes and that cocky grin, she did the one thing she knew to do.

With one swift movement, she pulled her arm back and balled her hand into a fist, and lunged at him with all the strength she could muster. Reid never saw it coming, falling to the ground with a loud thud. He grabbed his nose as it began to bleed and glared up at her. "What the hell was that for?" Vanessa returned the glare, anger beginning to rise in her like fire.

"You _dragged _me onto the dance floor!" Vanessa screamed. Reid looked up at her incredulously.

"I was _trying_ to dance with you!" Reid shouted in response. Vanessa growled and clenched her hands into fists.

"I told you, I didn't want to dance." she snapped.

"You were playing hard to get!" Reid growled. Vanessa's jaw dropped in shock. She didn't know whether to be offended, or just really pissed off.

"I was not!" she snapped. "I don't even know _how_ to play hard to get!" Reid scoffed.

"You did too!" he replied, dragging himself back onto his feet. "Besides, what are you so upset about!? You've been making eyes at me all day!"

"I've been making eyes at you?"

"YES." Vanessa burst out into laughter. This was not how she wanted her first party to go. All she wanted was to be invisible. Now she stood center stage, as all of her classmates stared at her. She swallowed and took a step back, glaring at Reid as held a towel to his nose to stop the bleeding. She took a deep breath and turned around, walking away. "HEY! Come back here!"

"Vanessa!" Elisha called to her, and Reid yelled at her, but Vanessa did not acknowledge either of them. She couldn't acknowledge either of them. It was too much. It was all just too much.

She didn't know how long she walked, or how far, or even where she was. But now that her feet were moving, at last, she couldn't stop them. The winter chill nipped at every inch of her, bare skin meeting the frigid New England cold. The clouds shifted in the sky, and the moon provided some small amount of light as she followed the road ahead of her. Every inch of her was aching, but she didn't notice, and when the freezing rain began to fall, she didn't even feel it.

It was all just too much.

She was alone, on an empty road in a place she didn't know. She was cold and tired, and she felt very, very far from anything she had ever known to be safe, but she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't hold it back or pretend that it wasn't there. Her eyes were sore, and it was hard to breathe, and the tears that she promised herself she would not shed until she was safe were falling. She couldn't control the sobs, the ones that racked her body and tore at her very soul, until she could no longer even walk.

Her steps grew short, until she couldn't step anymore, and she fell the ground and curled in a ball in the mud. Vanessa couldn't tell what she was crying for anymore. Her emotions had betrayed her. Her brothers had abandoned her. Her mother had let her go. She had nothing, and no one.

Vanessa rubbed her nose, sniffled, wiped the rain and the tears and the need to be warm away. She needed to breathe, to run; she needed to be far away from this place. "Daddy…. Daddy, I need you." The words came out as a rasp. Vanessa held her legs to her chest and closed her eyes. "Daddy…" And for the second time that day, she let sleep take her.

**A/N: so, did you like it? did you hate it? o.O review! REVIEW, I TELL YOU!  
OR I SHALL CURSE YOU ALL WITH WINDOWS VISTA!!  
...I am so downgrading...**


	2. Chapter 2

**sigh... I love reviews. They make me feel all warm and gooey inside. Okay, not really, but they brighten my day so the world doesn't seem quite so dismal. In any case, I shut myself inside today, because it's colder than it really has any right to be outside, and I officially hate winter. -.- snow isn't pretty. it just makes my toes numb... anyway, hope you like, and if you do, than please send a personal check with an amount for $500 to --address has been removed for privacy reasons--.  
I also accept donations of chocolate.**

Caleb Danvers awoke with a start. He glanced around the room, feeling the familiar twisting in his stomach and aching in his head. His mind began to race, questions, and answers, and yet more questions that couldn't be answered floating their way through his consciousness. The clock read 4:15, so he hadn't been sleeping for long. He felt a shift in the bed beside him and looked back.

A soft smile curved his lips as he watched her sleep, tousled blond hair and rosy cheeks. Even as she blinked her eyes open from sleep, and glanced up at him, a soft smile gracing her lips, Caleb felt something in his heart he knew he could never fully express. Not because he didn't trust her – God knows he trusted her with his very life. No, he never could fully express it because he just felt _too_ much. He was too much in love with her, that no words or expression, or soft caress could ever convey how deeply his feelings ran. "Hey." she whispered, her voice soft from sleep.

"Hey." Caleb whispered back. He struggled to slow the pounding of his heartbeat as he leaned back in the bed, beside her.

"What are you doing up?" Sarah asked, brushing the side of his face with her hand. She frowned. _He's sweating…_ "Is everything okay?"

Caleb gazed at her, trying to hide the worry that he felt. It hadn't been that long since the whole incident with Chase, but all of the Covenant had felt the repercussions of that night – some more than others. Sarah was a strong person. She was intelligent, beautiful, and Caleb had found, a little fragile. She was careful nowadays, about where she went and who spoke to. It had gotten better, but there was a time that Sarah had been suspicious of people and places. It was the little things that would set her off, make her wonder about things that she shouldn't have had to. She'd memorized the exits, and even now she hardly went anywhere without Kate. It was something he would have never wished on her, that if he could've gone back to the day that they met, he might've—

No, that wasn't right, Caleb knew. He couldn't change the past, and it made his very heart hurt to think about a life without Sarah. She was getting better, slowly. That was what was important. That was what he needed to focus on.

But this feeling, waking up in the middle of the night, soaked in sweat and with the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He knew this feeling, and he couldn't deny that it was there. It couldn't have been any of the others, not even Reid. They all knew better, and Reid never used very large amounts. Sure, he'd been using more than he used to, but he usually just hustled Aaron out of his money and picked up girls. This person who he'd felt was _using_, more than that.

He brushed the hair out of her eyes so he had an unobstructed view of her face. She didn't need to know, not yet. He would let her sleep, think it through, and then he would speak with Pogue, but for now… "It's fine." Caleb lied. Sarah didn't look convinced, but Caleb reassured her once more.

And when that didn't work, he stopped her worries and questions with a kiss. She curled into his chest as Caleb wrapped his arms around her. Caleb listened to the soft sound of her breathing as she fell back asleep, feeling safe and secure in his arms. No, he could never completely express just how deeply he felt for her.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Vanessa jumped awake, pulling herself back and banging herself against the headboard. She gasped for air and glanced around the room quickly. She could hear the quick thuds of her heart as it beat, and felt as though it might explode right out of her chest. "What the hell…" she mumbled to herself, leaning her head back and staring up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. What was this? She had never felt it before. It was a strange feeling, like a knife had been plunged into her, or… she shook her head. Vanessa didn't know how to describe it.

No, that wasn't true. It was like a wave had washed over her, drowning her. _No…_ Vanessa shook her head, trying to shake the feeling that her head was… clouded, away. It wasn't like a wave, was it?

She pulled the covers close to her, feeling suddenly cold from the drops of sweat that covered her body, but it was not the covers that she had in her hands. No, it was a coat. It was dark green, and seemed strangely familiar to her, though she couldn't place it, and it smelled. But it wasn't a bad smell, she thought. It smelt like flowers… Vanessa sighed, unsure as to exactly what was going on.

She glanced at the clock and ran a hand through her ruffled blond hair. 4:15 in the morning… when had she left the party? Better yet, she wondered, how had she gotten home? She glanced over at Elisha's bed to find her roommate hadn't returned. Had she met up with Elisha? No, she decided. Given that she was wrapped in a men's coat, and still curled up in bed, it had probably not been Elisha. She racked her mind for answers. What had happened?

_"I sai__d__, do you want to dance?"_

_"I uh- I can't dance…"_

_"I don't even know how to play hard to get!"_

_"Hey, come back here!"_

_"Elisha!"_

She remembered arriving at the party, meeting the boy, Reid. She remembered being dragged onto the dance floor, an anxious feeling twisting in her stomach at the mere memory, and then punching the boy. She smirked slightly, feeling a strange sense of pride. It had been a damn good punch. But then she ran out, with Elisha chasing her and Reid calling to her.

She ran…. she remembered running very vividly. She remembered the cold, and pulled the coat closer to her. And then… she remembered darkness. _I passed out…_

She was lucky, she decided, that she had been found and brought back to Spenser Academy. With how cold it was the previous night, she could easily have frozen to death. But instead she was alive, having been saved, she had to grudgingly admit, by some stranger. Then the thought occurred to her, who was it? It had to have been someone at the school; otherwise they wouldn't have known where to take her. But who?

And what would happen during classes? What would the other students do; what would they say? About her, and behind her back? She glanced over at Elisha's empty bed. Would Elisha be her friend, when one could so easily be swayed by rumors and pressures from other students?

And what was the feeling that had awakened her from the deep sleep that she had fallen into? It was something strong, that she knew.

She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, pushing the questions and the emotions aside. She had to focus. She had to reach out, to feel for that familiar presence. _Daddy… where are you?_ She sat for what seemed like hours, waiting for anything at all. Time passed, the wind whipped across the window, and Vanessa counted every breath until she could not count any further. Vanessa sighed and stared dismally at her desk on the other side of the room. It had been too long… something wasn't right. Granted, Vanessa was never really sure about these things. Whether it was even real or perhaps just an illusion that she had created for herself, so she didn't have to feel quite so alone, but this was not the way it meant to be. Even if it were an illusion, she would not suddenly be unable to reach him.

No, there was something _wrong._ About Spenser Academy, about being sent there, about Ipswich, and there was something very with her father, that she couldn't reach him.

She closed her eyes and prayed for the sleep that she knew would never come. She was not good at sleeping, and now that she had been awakened, she knew from past experience that she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep any time soon.

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"Damn. Damn. Bullshit. Fuck. Damn. Damn. Fuck. Damn." He hadn't meant to drag her onto the floor, or to freak her out. It was what had happened, but it was far from what Reid had actually intended when he decided to go speak to her. In fact, Reid wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do. He had honestly thought that she wanted him to chase her.

"Red looks good on you."

"Shut up, Pogue." Reid snapped. Pogue laughed as Reid pulled the bloody towel away, relieved that it had finally stopped. "Bitch."

"You should have listened to her when she said no." Pogue said, sitting down on the overstuffed chair beside his friend. He surveyed his girlfriend's house, which had played host to the night's party, and was completely trashed. Luckily, her parents were out of town. This party had been her revenge on them for not taking her with them, and Pogue had to admit, with the mansion in the state that it was in, it was pretty damn good for revenge. He made a mental note to try and stay on her good side.

"She needed to loosen up." Reid said. "How was I supposed to know that she-"

"Was immune the Garwin charm?" Pogue finished for him. Reid gave his friend a glare and rubbed his nose lightly. "That was a good punch, though." Pogue said. "Decent right hook. You're lucky your nose isn't broken."

"Bitch." Reid muttered once again. Pogue shook his head.

"You shouldn't talk about her like that." he said.

"I was talking about you." Reid groaned as Kate gave the back of his head a good smack. Pogue smiled up at his girlfriend, who he thought looked more beautiful than usual that evening. _I'd better_, he thought. _I'd hate to see what she'd do to my house._

"Hey!" Reid growled. "I'm wounded here!"

"You scared off that poor girl on her first day in Spenser." Kate scolded.

"What's your point?" Reid growled. Kate's eyes narrowed as she fixed him with a glare.

"Reid Garwin, learn to keep it in your pants." she commanded. Pogue laughed.

"Oh, that'll be hard to do, now." Pogue said. "Now that he's in love with her." Reid's anger flared and he jumped out of his chair, ready to give Pogue a good beating, friend or not.

"I'm _not_ in love with that… that… crazy chick!" Reid snapped. Pogue just grinned as he stood up and grabbed his leather coat, zipping it up and nodding to Kate.

"Ready to go?" Pogue asked. Reid watched them, getting angrier by the second.

"Ready, if you are." Kate replied. She put on her coat as she headed for the door, followed closely by Pogue, and an angry Reid who continued to yell to them.

"I'm not in love with her!" Reid shouted angrily.

"You'd better be careful not to catch cold, Reid!" Pogue called back. "You don't have a jacket!" When they were safely out of earshot, Kate turned to her boyfriend.

"Why would Reid fall in love with a girl who nearly broke his nose?" she asked. Pogue chuckled.

"Usually they jump into bed with him." Pogue said. "But not only did this girl reject him, she beat the shit out of him." Pogue laughed, amused. "Besides, he likes his girls feisty." Kate smiled at him seductively.

"Do you like your girls feisty?" she asked. Pogue didn't respond, but instead prepared himself for a long evening.

Reid sat, fuming at his friends. He was _not_ in love with her. She made a scene, she punched him in the face, and then she ran out of the fight _she_ started. It was cowardly and embarrassing.

Pogue was right about one thing, though. She did have a damn fine right hook.

And she looked hot when she angry.

He leaned back in the chair and listened to the music that was left quietly playing in the background, his thoughts still on Vanessa.

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"Alright, class, everyone take your seats!" Mr. Shayne called out. The students in the class scrambled to find where they were sitting, while still managing to talk to their friends and do whatever they could to make that small span of time before class started last as long as they could.

Vanessa found a seat next to Elisha and gazed around the room. The day had started the same way her days usually started. Vanessa had a talent for drifting through places and situations without disturbing things. _Except for last night, of course…_ Vanessa subconsciously tried to find Reid through the din of the room. Eventually she did, though she wasn't sure that she had really wanted to. Luckily, his face looked okay. He had a small bruise, but Vanessa knew from experience that bruises faded quickly, perhaps even more quickly than they should be allowed to, and that in a few days time, he would be back to normal.

Reid slumped in the seat and said something to Tyler, feeling eyes gazing at him. He glanced back, looking directly at where Vanessa was sitting. She looked away quickly and hugged her books to her chest, and something panged in Reid's stomach, though he was unsure of what. He was _not_ in love with her. But God, did she have to look so… sad?

The teacher called out to get the students to be quiet and began the day's lesson. It was a lecture that Vanessa had heard before, as she had studied religiously back in the hospital with her mother and Trevor. _Trevor…_ She let her mind wander, knowing the material backwards and forwards and confident in herself enough, at least, to be able to pass whatever test this miscreant of a professor could throw at her – and he _did_ look like a miscreant.

It was a painful hour between trying to avoid looking at Reid, which Vanessa found that she reluctantly couldn't stop doing, and trying not to fall asleep right there, in the middle of class. She had been surprised that there wasn't a scene when she showed up in class, or whispers that suddenly stopped, or, well, anything. It seemed that either the incident wasn't really that big of a deal, or everyone was still hung over from the party and didn't feel like wasting their time and energies on being vicious bastards – or maybe that came later. Vanessa wasn't sure, of anything really. All she really knew was that if she could make it through the class and then slip back to the dorm unnoticed, then she'd be safe for the rest of the year. If not, well… she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

Reid spent the hour stealing quick glances over his shoulder, Pogue's words still echoing in his mind. He did not fall in love with women who tried to kill him. Okay, so she hadn't been trying to kill him. She'd been trying to keep him from making her dance in a crowded room with a bunch of people she didn't know. But still, just because he was a bumbling oaf who didn't take no for answer, that didn't mean that she had the right to punch in the face, right in front of the entire senior class. Damn Pogue and Kate for putting out the word around the school to not bring it up. His face hurt every time he moved it – he couldn't even show basic emotions like tears, or happiness, without it throbbing. Not that he wanted to show tears, or even cry, of course. It was not in Reid's nature to cry, nor to be happy.

Reid's eyes glazed over as he stared at the board. When was the last time that he had been happy? Really, truly, genuinely happy? When he was a boy? No, he decided. The first time he got laid? Reid smirked for a moment, then scowled. _She wasn't that good._ It was probably that summer before he came to Spenser Academy, when he met Caleb and Pogue, and Tyler. When he finally found a place that he 'fit'.

But even now, Reid didn't really 'fit', did he? In fact, he wasn't sure if any of them had felt right since Chase, but that was another story, and in the end, Reid didn't think much of happiness. He'd grown fond of where he was over the years, in the numbed state he found himself as they all watched their fathers use until they became drunk with their powers. It seemed that no one was really strong enough to beat the eventual addiction – so really, why bother to fight it?

Yes, Reid decided, he was comfortable in his bitterness and self-destruction. He shook his head at the thoughts of using and his happiness and glared over at Vanessa across the room. She seemed to be staring intently ahead, focused completely on the lesson. Who was she, to make him question his happiness? She wasn't happy at all. He could tell by the very way that she walked, forcing herself to look straight ahead and stand straight and tall, as though she were daring the whole world to take her on. _She'd probably turn tail and run_ Reid sighed and slumped down even further in his seat. He would leave her alone and let her live her life, so long as she extended him the same courtesy.

Yes… yes, that was what he would do.

The bell rang madly, interrupting the teacher. He scowled as he looked at the clock, apparently having more material that he had not had a chance to cover. Students were getting out of their seats, packing their things away and grabbing their notes to leave. Some would head to their next class, some would play hooky and wouldn't be heard from for another few hours. Reid felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as Kate, who was seated just behind him, swung her bag over her. He growled as he jumped up in his seat and looked at her angrily. "What?" she asked, giving him an innocent look. "It was an accident."

"Accident my ass." Rein grumbled. He gathered up the book they had been reading through in class, that he hadn't actually even looked at, and whatever else he had brought with him, and gave the room a once over. He had something to do, but by the looks of it, he would have to be fast.

Vanessa gathered up her books and walked down the steps, forcing herself not to look in Reid's direction as she passed him, and headed toward the exit. "Hey, Vanessa!" _Doesn't this guy know when to quit?_ "Vanessa!"

Vanessa kept her shoulders straight and held her head high as she walked away, pretending not to hear Reid calling to her. He pushed a few people out of the way and jumped down the steps, trying to catch up with her. _Damn, she's fast…_ And fast is exactly what Vanessa wanted to be, because as much as she wanted to be away from Ipswich, she didn't want to face Reid Garwin even more. "Vanessa!"

She was halfway down the hall to her room when he finally caught up to her. He grabbed her shoulder lightly and turned her to face him, and she stared up at him defiantly, with an annoyed expression that he found… charming. He shook his head clear of the thought and cleared his throat, focusing on the task at hand. "Look, about last night-"

"Forget it." Vanessa said quickly. Reid's eyes shot wide open in surprise. "Forget it, it doesn't matter." she said quickly, before turning to walk away. He grabbed her shoulder, but she fought him this time. It didn't stop him, and she turned and met him with deadpan eyes and a clenched jaw.

"Look, last night I was dick." Reid said. Vanessa's right eyebrow rose.

"Interesting word choice." she mumbled. Reid smirked.

"I really did think you wanted me to chase you." he said. Vanessa sighed.

"Well, I didn't." Vanessa said.

"I know that now, and… I'm…" Reid struggled with his words, and Vanessa tried to cover a smirk of her own. "I'm-"

"Come on, Garwin, you can do it." she prompted. He groaned.

"I'm sorry." he spat, disgusted with the word. Vanessa smiled and nodded.

"Apology accepted." Vanessa said. "Sorry for beating the shit out of you." Reid scoffed and motioned to his nose.

"You call _this_ beating the shit out of me?" he asked, laughing. "I've been beaten worse than this tons of times." Vanessa laughed.

"I'm not sure that's something I'd brag about, but okay." Vanessa said. She glanced down at her shoes, then back to Reid. She held out her hand. "Friends?" she asked. He got that cocky smirk and shook her hand.

"Friends." he agreed. Vanessa was about to leave when Reid leaned in close. "So… what color panties you wearing?" he asked, giving her a lecherous grin. Vanessa glared at him and pulled her hand back.

"Dammit, Reid. You really are a dick." Vanessa said, before turning and walking away. Reid watched her go, admiring her powerful strides and the way her skirt floated around her legs.

Okay, so maybe he liked her a little.

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"Reid was still with me, at Kate's." Pogue said. Caleb stared around the room and sighed.

"And Tyler?" Caleb asked, turning to the youngest member of the Covenant.

"I was back at the dorms, but it wasn't me." Tyler answered. They had met up after classes ended and Caleb explained the situation.

"And no one else felt it?" Caleb asked. Tyler shook his head while Reid and Pogue answered no. Caleb sighed and rubbed his aching head in thought. This was not good.

"It could've been Chase." Tyler said grimly.

"Chase is dead." Reid replied. Caleb shook his head.

"We don't know that." Caleb said. "They never found a body."

"What would Chase still be doing in Ipswich?" Pogue asked. "Now that you've ascended, you're too powerful for him. Especially with us to back you up."

"Are we sure it wasn't one of the fathers?" Reid asked bitterly. An uncomfortable silence fell over the four of them. It was a question that, sadly, none of them could really answer.

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Vanessa pushed her schoolwork aside as her roommate entered. Elisha looked strangely refreshed for a girl who didn't come home before class started. "You get in late last night?" Vanessa asked. Elisha set her things down on her bed and gave Vanessa a clueless look. "I didn't see you this morning." Elisha chuckled, perhaps a bit too loud, and gave Vanessa an innocent face.

"Oh, no. I was here. I just got up really early for cheer practice and stuff." Elisha answered, a nervous but extremely happy look on her face. So Elisha had a secret. A secret that involved girlish giggling and a smile that would split her face in half if it grew any bigger, Vanessa noted. Well, if Elisha didn't want to share, then Vanessa wasn't about to press her on the matter. Vanessa was a person who appreciated secrets – happy secrets, most especially.

"Cool." Vanessa said. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments before Elisha couldn't take it anymore. She had never been able to sit still.

"So, how'd you end up at Spenser?" Elisha asked, placing her pompoms just inside the closet. Vanessa considered the question for a long moment before answering.

"My stepdad dropped me off." she said. "In his crappy midlife-crisis-shaped-like-a-penis convertible." Elisha laughed her description of her stepfather's car.

"Okay, but why?" Elisha asked. "I mean, I'm sure there are tons of places besides Spenser you could go. Especially with the senior year already being half over." Vanessa sighed.

"Do you want the truth?" she asked, suddenly serious. Elisha wasn't entirely sure she liked serious. She wasn't the serious type. She liked to be happy, to laugh. It had completely thrown her that she had ended up with a roommate like Vanessa, who seemed tragic and beaten, and generally very gloomy. The incident at the party had been completely unexpected, and Elisha was not sure that it was a world that she really wanted to enter when she had so much going for her.

"Uh… okay." Elisha said, hesitantly. Vanessa caught on to her hesitation and ignored the hurt it caused her, though she didn't know why. Vanessa was generally a very honest person, but the truth was not something that Elisha really wanted to hear, so she made a small exception.

"My mom used to go to this school." she lied. "It has fond memories for her, so she decided I should go here." She didn't tell Elisha the truth, about her brother, or the gambling debts that her stepfather had amassed over the years, or how she was surprised that they had the money to pay for tuition, when they could barely pay the hospital bills. Elisha smiled.

"Aww… that's so sweet." Elisha said.

"How'd you end up here?" Vanessa asked. Elisha glanced around the room, not wanting to meet Vanessa's eyes.

"I umm… I got a scholarship." Elisha choked out. Vanessa's eyes widened a little and she smiled.

"You're a scholarship girl?" she asked. Elisha looked around nervously as she nodded.

"That's cool." Vanessa said. Elisha looked at her, surprised. Most of the students at Spenser didn't exactly like scholarship students. Sure, she'd worked hard to get there, but the other students weren't exactly accepting, and had taken every chance they got to make her life miserable. It wasn't until senior year started that things started to let up on her a little, just before Vanessa's arrival.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Vanessa replied. "You have to be like, wicked smart to get a scholarship. That's really cool." Vanessa said. Elisha looked a little less nervous, which Vanessa was happy for. She didn't harbor any ill will towards Elisha, and spending… however long Vanessa was going to be there; with a roommate that was uncomfortable with her was not something she wanted.

"Cool." Elisha said, flopping down on her bed. She closed her eyes and sighed in content. Finally, she was starting to fit in.

Vanessa folded up the letter she had been writing and placed it inside an envelope, writing the name 'Trevor Reynolds' on the front, before sealing it closed. She walked over and set it down on her desk, making a mental note to mail it out. Elisha sat up in bed and watched her for a moment, before asking a question. "Do you have a thing for Reid Garwin?" Vanessa jerked around and stared at her.

"No." Vanessa said quickly. "Why?" Elisha grinned.

"Just… wondering." Elisha answered. Vanessa stared at her roommate indignantly.

"I do _not_ have a thing for Reid Garwin." Vanessa said.

"Okay." Elisha sang.

"I don't!" Vanessa screeched. Elisha did not look in the least bit convinced. "Trust me, Elisha, at this moment, Reid Garwin is the last thing on my mind."

"If you say so." Elisha replied. She leaned back and took a deep breath before launching into one of her cheers. "Give me an S! Give me a…" Vanessa felt like banging her head against the wall. Vanessa, having a thing with that jerk off? Ha! She would probably kill him in the first five minutes of the relationship.

Besides, she didn't have time for a silly little romance with a game player who'd dump her the next time a leggy blond walked by. She had more important things to worry about.

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_The drip, drip, drip of the rain echoed through the halls__ as she took small, cautious steps. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, praying that it was just her imagination. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked around her. "Caleb?" she called. "Caleb, is that you?"_

_Her heart beat grew more rapid as the words echoed down the halls, but there came no reply. She turned and continued to walk, her pace growing __more rapid with every step she took. By the time she reached the corner, she had started to run, only to come to a stop the second she turned the corner. "CALEB!"_

_Sarah lunged forward as a blast pulsed down the hall, directly into the arms of her boyfriend. The room flashed white as a scream pierced the air._

Vanessa jumped out of bed, cradling her head as the screaming echoed through her ears. She pulled her legs to her chest and stared out at the rain as it fell harshly against the window. "Oh shit." Vanessa mumbled. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

**Love it, hate it? Be kind, rewind! err... I mean, review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I meant to have this up sooner, but my entire family seemed to all randomly catch the flu at the exact same time, and I was the only one who was even remotely healthy, so needless to say... it's been a busy few days. In any case, here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy!**

"Hmm… I love this song…" Elisha sighed in content, closing her eyes and listening to the music playing softly in the background. She curled into the warm body beside her, resting her head in the crook of Tyler's neck.

"I love you." Tyler whispered softly in her ear. She laughed at the tickling sensation as his breath brushed her skin and stared at Tyler with gentle, loving eyes. He brushed her hair out of her eyes and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Tyler sighed. "I want you to be my girlfriend." he whispered suddenly. Elisha smiled.

"I _am_ your girlfriend." she replied. She reached over and pulled up the sheets gazing underneath with a mischievous smile. Her right eyebrow rose. "Yup, I'm your girl." Tyler grinned at her.

"No, I mean, I want you to be my _girlfriend_." Tyler said. "Out there. Not just in here, whenever we can sneak away from our roommates."

"Tyler…" Elisha sighed. Tyler ran his hand across the side of her face, Elisha leaning into his hand as he ran it down to her chin, then down to her neck, where it rested for a moment before moving lower, to just above her left breast. It seemed to Tyler to be forever that they laid there, gazing into each other's eyes. Elisha swallowed and curled her leg around Tyler's waist, their faces so close she could feel his breath on her cheeks.

"Elisha Mayhue, I think you're the most beautiful, intelligent," He leaned down and grazed her lips with his own, satisfied at the quickened pace of her heartbeat as he ran his hand down her waist and across her curves. "And unbelievably sexy woman I have ever met in my life." Elisha smiled against his lips.

"Sweet talker." Elisha chuckled. "I bet you say that to all the girls." Tyler grinned.

"Only the _really_ talented ones." he replied. Elisha scoffed.

"Oh? So now I'm talented?" Elisha asked. He kissed her lips lightly and she sighed into his mouth.

"Very." Tyler said, stroking her leg. Elisha laughed.

"Talented, how?" she asked. "I can't swim, remember?" She thought back on how she'd met Tyler for a long moment, thanking whatever gods may be listening that she hadn't followed her instincts and turned around and ran.

"You have other talents." Tyler said lecherously.

"I knew it – you only want me for my body." Elisha accused, feigning a hurt expression. "What about my brain? What about my soul?" Elisha asked, making her voice light and airy. "What about my keen fashion sense?"

"Your brain is apart of your body." Tyler answered. "And as for your keen fashion sense…"

"I think you like that a little _too_ much." Elisha said cheekily. Tyler chuckled. "And my soul?" Tyler sighed and ran his hand through her hair.

"Elisha, you have a heart and soul unparalleled by any in this world." Tyler said, his voice sincere. Elisha let a small, genuine smile touch her lips.

"I love you, Tyler Simms." she whispered softly, touching his lips lightly with her fingers. Tyler kissed her hand.

"I love you, Elisha Mayhue."

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Reid paced back and forth, scratching his head sheepishly as he gazed at the clock on the wall. It was stupid to worry, wasn't it? After all, it wasn't like the whole using thing could be Tyler, and Tyler rarely got into trouble. He rarely even put a toe out of line, to quote his mother. He froze for a moment. "I'm beginning to think like my mother." he said. He shook his head. "Creepy." Reid sighed.

"Keep pacing like that, you're going to wear a hole in the floor." Caleb said, grabbing his clothes from his locker. Swim practice had just finished, and Caleb, Pogue, and Reid were making themselves presentable to the rest of the school in the locker room. Reid's brow furrowed as he glared at Caleb.

"Have you guys seen Tyler today?" Reid asked. "He never misses practice."

"He's stuck in Donovan's class." Pogue replied. "Apparently he got volunteered to help with a project." Caleb glanced up sharply.

"He told me he was stuck working on a paper back at the dorms and needed quiet." Caleb said. Reid glanced between the two in disbelief.

"And you guys actually _believed_ him?" Reid asked incredulously. Caleb and Pogue looked at each other and laughed.

"Hell, no." Pogue replied. "We figured he had a girl and just didn't want us stopping by."

"Didn't he tell you anything?" Caleb asked, glancing at Reid as he buttoned his pants. Reid scowled and Pogue laughed.

"He wouldn't have had to." Pogue said, giving Reid a knowing smirk. "He was too busy getting some of his own." Caleb and Pogue chuckled, earning a murderous glare from Reid.

"That's not the point!" Reid growled. Pogue sighed. "Don't you guys think it's strange that he didn't tell us?" Caleb and Pogue looked at each other, then back at Reid, who rolled his eyes. "Don't answer that."

"If you want to know about it so badly, then just ask him." Caleb said.

"And don't be crude." Pogue added in. Reid turned to Pogue with an offended look.

"I'm not crude!" Reid objected. Pogue stopped tying his shoe for a moment to stare up at Reid, who eventually broke. "Okay, maybe a little." Reid sighed and sat down on the bench between the lockers. Caleb and Pogue glanced at each other once more.

"Uh, Reid?" Reid looked at Caleb. "Do you want to get dressed for our next class?" Reid gave him a toothy grin and Caleb mentally kicked himself, pondering as to why exactly he had bothered to ask in the first place.

"Oh, Reid, about Nicky's…" Pogue began, suddenly paying close attention to his shoes. Reid jumped up with an evil look on his face.

"Aaron is going to be out of a trust fund by the time I'm done with him." Reid muttered, rubbing his hands together as he plotted in his head.

"Yeah… Vanessa's coming." Pogue said. Reid's face fell and he turned to Pogue with an angry expression, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.

"I am _NOT_ in love with Vanessa!" Reid growled. Pogue grinned.

"Who said anything about love?" Caleb asked, buttoning his shirt. Reid glared over at Caleb.

"Don't tell me you had nothing to do with this!" Reid snapped. Pogue laughed.

"Actually, it was Kate." Pogue said. "She decided that since her first night here was so traumatic, it required a mission of goodwill." he explained. "She told me to tell you to _BE NICE._" Reid growled.

"I'm _always_ nice." Reid snapped. Pogue laughed. Caleb slid his coat on and fixed the collar.

"What about the time in freshman year when you-"

"Oh, shut up."

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Vanessa clutched the strap to her bag close to her, as though it were a lifeline. As though if she held onto it strong enough, long enough; if she held it close enough to her, it might save her. _It might save Sarah…_ She took a few cautious steps and stared at the door the library. She looked down the halls and watched people walking, heading anywhere but to the library. As usual, the library was the least frequented part of the school. But not for Sarah Wenham.

For Sarah Wenham, it was her own lifeline. She sat at a table with stacks of books surrounding her as she turned a page in one of them, taking notes every few minutes. She stared down at a page with an intense look on her face before rubbing her tired eyes and brushing her hair back behind her ears. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail that day, small pieces falling loose here and there. Every few minutes she would look up from her books and gaze around the room. When she heard a strange noise, or someone dropped a book, she would jump up in her chair and look around nervously, before turning her attention quickly back to her books.

A piece of Vanessa understood how she felt. It wasn't so long ago that she had been like that; nervous, frightened, and unsure of what was real and what wasn't, and exactly what she needed to worry about. _No_, Vanessa corrected herself. She was still like that, every little piece of her. But she had learned. She had learned to hide it, to keep her emotions in check. Except for those few, rare moments when she was just too overwhelmed, like the party. Vanessa closed her eyes and counted to ten before taking a few cautious steps into the room, until she stood beside Sarah's table and was gazing down at the book she was reading over Sarah's shoulder.

_the five families that originally founded the Ipswich colony… Danvers, Simms, Parry, Garwin…. John Putnam… during the witch trials…_

Vanessa's eyes froze on the last line she'd read. _Witch trials?_ _As in the Salem Witch Trials?_ The Salem witch trials, which her grandmother had so often referred to as the age of burning? It was a time of mindless slaughter, when more innocent people had been killed than those with any kind of power. It had originally just been a power play, to keep the people in check. After all, why would someone challenge you for power when they were too busy trying to keep their homes and families safe from witches? By the time the trials ended, people had become almost fanatical about it. She'd been to the place of those burnings once, and it had chilled Vanessa to her very core, with a kind of murderous anger that she had never thought she could feel.

Vanessa remembered how her grandmother used to weep - heartbroken sobs that would rock her body and last for hours before she felt any kind of peace. That was the problem with being a medium, her grandmother used to say. Some things you see, some things you know, and some things you _feel_. Her grandmother had felt the anguish and the fear of all those souls who'd been wrongly accused or sacrificed, and the hatred of those witches who had burned to death when they had committed no offenses against the people. It had haunted her, and it had frightened Vanessa to such an extent that she had resolved to never against venture there, let alone in New England.

Yet there she was, stuck in Ipswich.

_Wait… Garwin?_ "Reid's ancestor?" Vanessa whispered, realization dawning on her. Sarah jumped in surprise and let out a loud screech, causing everyone in the library to look up from their books or computers in worry and surprise. Vanessa jumped back and looked around apologetically. "Shit – I'm sorry! Sorry!" She turned to Sarah. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Sarah held her hand over her chest and felt her heart racing. She took a minute to breathe and regain her composure. "I… just wanted to introduce myself." Vanessa said weakly, holding out her hand. Sarah looked unconvinced. "I'm Vanessa."

She stared at it for a moment, considering, before she cautiously reached out and shook it, giving Vanessa a tentative smile. "Right." Sarah said, recognizing the name and her description - tall, short blond hair, a tragic waifish look to her. "I heard about how you almost broke Reid's nose." Vanessa grimaced, then covered it by laughing, albeit nervously.

"I- I uh, didn't really mean to…" Vanessa said weakly, scratching her head sheepishly. Sarah laughed.

"Don't worry about it." she said. "I think half the girls in Spenser have wanted to do it since school started." Vanessa smirked.

"I take it he gets around?" Vanessa asked. She looked at the chair opposite Sarah. "Mind if I sit?" Sarah looked at it for a moment, but it seemed that some of her tension was beginning to slip away, because she nodded enthusiastically.

"The term 'manwhore' kind of applies." Sarah replied with a twisted smile as Vanessa pulled out the chair and took a seat. They laughed, and Sarah closed the book in front of her. "I'm Sarah, by the way."

"I know." Vanessa said. "Kate said I should introduce myself if I ran into you." Sarah's eyebrow rose ever so slightly.

"And you recognized me?" she asked. "Oh, from the party the other night." _Actually, no, but it's just as a good a story as any._

"Yeah." Vanessa said, looking away. Sarah watched her carefully, suddenly getting the sense that she didn't really want to talk about the party. It was all anybody was talking about, really. Especially Aaron and his crew, and Sarah had found herself getting tired of the whispers she had been overhearing, despite Kate asking people to keep it to themselves. She wasn't sure if Vanessa had heard any of them, but Sarah didn't want to scare Vanessa away in any case, so she changed the subject.

"So, you just transferred in?" Sarah asked. Vanessa looked at one of the books on physics that was sitting on the table.

"Yup. From a small town in Indiana." Vanessa said. "Called Restwick."

"Restwick?" Sarah shook her head. "Never heard of it." Vanessa laughed.

"Most people haven't." she said. "It's actually not much of a small town. It's more like a ghetto, there are so many people cramped into the place." Vanessa sighed. "It's one of those places, though. Everybody knows everybody, and you can always find the mayor at the Big Red Liquors."

"The mayor's always drunk?" Sarah asked, surprised. Vanessa shook her head.

"Nah, he owns the joint." Vanessa answered. "Ironically, he doesn't drink. He thinks alcohol makes people stupid." Sarah laughed.

"That's one way to win an election." she mumbled. "So, how'd you end up at Spenser?"

"My stepdad dropped me off in his midlife-crisis-shaped-like-a-penis convertible." Vanessa replied, using the same words she'd told Elisha. "I got kicked out of my last school for breaking into the office and playing ICP over the school intercom." It was true, Vanessa thought. Granted, she hadn't been in a school in over two years, but the last school she was in, she had gotten kicked out of for playing ICP. Well, that and stealing the principal's toupee and placing it in the school trophy case. Sarah laughed. "How'd you end up here?"

"I want to go to Harvard." Sarah said. "I actually wasn't sure about this place at first. I wanted to go to Winchester, you know, down the road, but this is closer to home and I actually warmed up to it pretty quickly."

"It's not a bad place." Vanessa agreed, though she still wanted to be anywhere but there, especially given her dream. "The people are really nice, especially you and Kate. And my roommate, too."

"Who's your roommate?" Sarah asked, adjusting her ponytail and pulling loose strands away from her face.

"Elisha… something." Vanessa answered.

"Elisha Mayhue?" Sarah asked. Vanessa gave her a confused expression. "Blond hair, blue eyes, Spenser Academy cheerleading outfit?"

"That would be her." Vanessa said. Sarah nodded with a big smile.

"Oh, yeah. Elisha's pretty cool. It's been a while since I've seen her. She hangs out with the cheerleaders now." Sarah explained. "But she comes to Nicky's sometimes and Aaron makes faces at her." Sarah laughed. "We used to go to school together, but she got a scholarship and transferred out of public in her freshman year. I didn't get here until fall." Vanessa thought for a moment.

"I was honestly surprised." Vanessa said. "Most of the time she acts…"

"Airheaded?" Sarah supplied. Vanessa laughed and nodded. "It's just a front. She's always been kind of shy, and I guess after she got here… well, things were tough." Sarah glanced at the clock on the wall and scowled.

"What?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm late – I'm supposed to meet Caleb for lunch." Sarah said. She shifted a few books on the table and put her papers away in her bag before standing up and pushing her chair in. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"No problem." Vanessa replied. "It was nice talking to you." Vanessa called out as Sarah ran quickly out the door and down the hall. She earned a few glares from the other library patrons for not respecting the whispers only rule, but Vanessa brushed them off. She felt a whole new sense of dread washing over her. Sarah was a nice person, who seemed maybe a bit tired, but didn't mean anyone any ill will. It didn't seem fair, that Vanessa would have a vision of one of the few decent people at Spenser getting killed.

She sighed and grabbed her bag, getting ready to leave, before she remembered the book. She looked at the door Sarah had left through, then walked over to gaze at the stack of books. There were books on physics, English, books about human anatomy that were required reading for AP Biology, which Vanessa was also taking, and history books.

But they were World History books. There was nothing about the states in the books, let alone how Ipswich was colonized or the Salem witch trials. Vanessa sighed and bit her lip. Sarah must've taken the book with her. It was too bad, because Vanessa could've used some of that information.

She had learned one thing, however. Reid Garwin was a descendant of the Garwin family, who was mentioned as one of the original five families. Garwin, Danvers, Simms, Parry, and Putnam… and Putnam had killed during the witch trials. So, if she assumed that John Putnam really was a witch, or a warlock, if she wanted to get technical, than there were only two conclusions she could come to. Either the other four families had found out, and turned him in, or they had known all along.

_Or they were warlocks, too._ Either way, it wasn't happy news. Vanessa sighed. She definitely needed that book, and she was going to find herself face-to-face that insufferable Reid again. She could count on that.

Vanessa glanced around the room one last time before standing up and heading out. She walked down the hall, headed to the dorms. _I have to try again tonight. I have to find Dad…_ Her thoughts wandered, to the dream, to Ipswich, to the girl who was about to die if Vanessa couldn't figure out how to fix it.

_Dammit._ Sometimes she hated magic.

She sighed and turned a corner, passing a few of the boys' dorm rooms. She briefly wondered exactly which room housed Reid, and who was unlucky enough to be his roommate, but brushed the thought away quickly and took faster steps to get her room. It didn't matter however, and had Vanessa known that, she might've taken a different, less direct, route. Just as she was nearing the end of the hall, a door opened, and out walked Reid Garwin, of all people. Vanessa froze and stood, staring at him for a long moment, before he saw her and grinned. "Woah. Where's the fire?" Vanessa opened her mouth, ready to sling a witty comeback that would blow his mind, but found depressingly that she had none.

"I'm kind of busy." Vanessa said, walking past him. Reid turned to watch her go, then ran up beside her and walked with her.

"So, really… what's the rush?" Reid asked, fervently hoping to start some kind of conversation. Possibly an argument – he'd take an argument. Wait, why was he intent on making her talk, anyway? Vanessa glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then looked back down the hall quickly, when she suddenly stopped and turned to him. Reid took a step back, half expecting her to punch him again. But to his surprise, she gave him an earnest expression and asked him a question.

"Do you believe in fate?" Vanessa asked. "Like, everything happens for a reason, and if you find yourself in a situation where you can make a difference and change something, then you're not only supposed to change it, but… you're kind of… obligated to do what you can?" Reid thought about it for a moment.

"Well, gee, I like you Vanessa, but that's moving a little fas-"

"Come on, Reid, can't you just be serious?" Vanessa pleaded. Reid bit the inside of his mouth and sighed.

"Okay, fine." Reid agreed. "Yes, I believe in fate." Vanessa nodded in acknowledge and brushed her short hair behind her ears. "What's this about?" Vanessa stared at her shoes for a second before looking up.

"This is going to sound insane…" Vanessa muttered, getting Reid's attention. "When I was two, my grandmother came to live with us from Romania. She was a gypsy fortune teller who used to talk to the dead."

"You're right." Reid said. "That does sound insane." Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, she used to tell me these stories. You know, those old gypsy myths about the dragon who used to eat people, or the one with the devil and the mirror… and one day, she pulls out this old book, talking all about spirits, and visions, and spells. That night, I had a nightmare about running through the woods, being chased by something. In the dream, I'm dodging branches, and trying desperately to get away from something, when I suddenly trip and fall. I turn around, seconds before whatever it is that I'm running from catches up to me, and just as it reaches me, I wake up." Vanessa told him. Reid gave her a confused expression.

"I don't get it." Reid said. Vanessa sighed.

"Two days later, I walk into the living room just as my Dad changes the channel to the news." Vanessa said. "Some college student got wasted at a party and went wandering off alone, towards the woods, where he was met by a very angry bear who chased him down and ripped him into tiny little pieces."

"Shit." Reid muttered. "Shit."

"Yeah." Vanessa agreed, shaking her head. Reid watched her carefully.

"What does this have to do with anything?" he asked. She examined something on the wall, and Reid got the distinct impression that she didn't really want to say. But she did, anyway.

"I had another dream last night." Vanessa told him. "Only, it wasn't me running, and it definitely wasn't a bear." Reid stood, waiting for an explanation. "It was Sarah Wenham and Caleb Danvers, and there was something big and nasty, and really powerful that wanted them dead." Reid's eyes widened, in shock… surprise. Vanessa had had a vision of two of his best friends getting killed. Could she have been making it up? Could she have been the one they'd felt using?

Or maybe she was sincere. Maybe… Reid's head hurt. It felt like everything was spinning. Nothing made sense. He swallowed and looked around the hall, choking back the worry that was threatening to show itself. "I have to find Tyler." he said simply, before turning and walking away. Vanessa watched him walk away for a moment before turning and unlocking her door, opening it.

"AHHH!"

"Oh, shit!"

"Oh, SHIT!" Vanessa screamed. "Reid!" Reid reluctantly stopped halfway down the hall and gazed back at Vanessa. "I found Tyler!"

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"So, you and Elisha?" Caleb asked, grinning. "About damn time."

"Yeah, what took you so long?" Pogue asked. He turned to Caleb. "You owe me fifty bucks." Reid sighed and looked at them grimly.

"You were betting on it?" Tyler asked in disbelief.

"What?" Pogue asked innocently.

"I didn't call you guys here to talk about Tyler's sex life." Reid said. They turned to him and saw that for once, Reid was serious. It didn't happen often, usually only in really bad situations, so they knew to pay attention when it did happen. "I think Vanessa may be a problem." Reid said. "Or know of a problem." He cradled his head in his hands.

"Not the whole Vanessa thing again…" Pogue groaned. "You just stop shitting around and ask her out."

"She had a vision." Reid told them. He definitely had their attention. "She came to me, and told me that she had a vision. Something about gypsies and devil dragons."

"What?" Tyler asked.

"What was her vision?" Caleb asked. Reid looked up at him, understanding how Vanessa had felt. Or how she might have felt. Damn, it was confusing.

"She had a vision about you and Sarah." Reid said. "Getting killed." Tyler looked at Reid in confusion.

"Why did she tell you?" he asked. "I thought she didn't even like you."

"Do you think she's setting us up?" Pogue asked. Reid shook his head.

"I don't know." he answered. _I hope not…_

"Where is she now?" Caleb asked. Reid sighed and walked over to the door, opening it and stepping outside. Pogue, Tyler, and Caleb heard muffled voices talking for a moment, before Reid came back in, followed closely by a weary looking Vanessa. She looked around the room, at the strangely shaped candles and the stacks of old, worn books on the shelves. Yup, they definitely knew. She glanced around the room nervously.

"Gee…" Vanessa said. "This is… nice. I like what you've done with it." _Get me out of here. Get me out of here. Get me out of here._

"What did you see exactly?" Caleb asked. Vanessa looked serious and swallowed, gazing back at Reid, who nodded. She bit her lip.

"It was in the hall just by the south doors, by the dorms." Vanessa said, closing her eyes and looking back at the vision. "It was dark… just past midnight. And Sarah was walking to meet you… somewhere. She was nervous." Tyler, Pogue, Caleb, and Reid were listening intently, trying to hide the mixed feelings of confusion, anger, worry, and suspicion that were raging in them. "There was something… following her. She started running, calling out for Caleb. And then she reached the corner, just by the windows, and she saw you, fighting someone. Or…. something." Vanessa opened her eyes and sighed. "And then, just before it happened, she ran to you and… you both…." They all sat in silence for a long moment.

"How did it happen?" Caleb asked. Vanessa shook her head.

"I don't know." Vanessa replied.

"You don't know?" Pogue asked. Vanessa turned to him.

"Visions aren't clear, especially when it has to deal with someone's death." Vanessa said.

"Why would you be having visions in the first place?" Pogue asked, suspicious.

"Her grandmother was a gypsy fortune teller." Reid answered.

"Well…" Vanessa said. Reid looked at her in surprise. "She wasn't strictly just a fortune teller. She was one of her tribe's Elders." Vanessa saw their looks of confusion and explained. "Sort of like a powerful high priestess. She handled spells and curses."

"And talked to the dead." Reid told them. Vanessa nodded.

"Yeah… she did that too."

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Vanessa fell on the bed, exhausted. She'd just returned from meeting with Caleb, Pogue, Tyler, and Reid, and was more than a little drained from the whole experience. Not to mention the fact that she was pretty sure they didn't trust her. No good deed goes unpunished. Her grandmother used to say that, too. She glanced over at her roommate, who blushed awkwardly, and giggled. "So, this is your big secret." Vanessa said. "You and Tyler Simms were making whoopee?" Elisha looked offended.

"We were _not_ making whoopee." Elisha snapped. Vanessa laughed.

"No, I'm sorry, you were making love." Vanessa corrected herself. Elisha nodded and smiled.

"Exactly, we were making love." Elisha said. Vanessa grabbed her pillow and rolled on her chest.

"So, how was the wild monkey sex?" Vanessa asked. Elisha's face went a bright red.

"E-excuse me?" she stuttered.

"How was it?" Vanessa asked. "Was it good? Did he talk at all? How was his technique?" Elisha looked dumbfounded for a moment, and Vanessa wondered exactly how she'd expected her to react.

"I- I… well… umm…" Elisha glanced around the room, unsure of what to do.

"Okay, wait… Exactly how big _is_ he?" Vanessa asked. "Because I gotta tell you, that whole group looks like they're hung like-"

"Is that your cell phone?" Elisha asked quickly, thankful for a change of subject. Vanessa sighed in disappointment and pulled her cell phone out of her bag. She felt her heart jump in her throat as she read the number. She sat up and answered it, fear apparent in her voice.

"Mom?" Vanessa asked. She heard the faint sound of sniffling and muffled sounds on the other end. "Mom, is that you?"

"Va-Vanessa?"

"Mom, what's going on? What's wrong?" Vanessa asked quickly. She heard her mother choke on another sob before she spoke again.

"It's- it's about Trevor." her mother replied. "It's bad, Vanessa. It's really bad." _Oh dear god…_ She glanced at the alarm clock. It was just past 7:30.

"I'm coming, Mom. I'm coming right now."

**Love it? Hate it? Write a review telling me how much you hate me for that cliffhanger.  
Oh, and I've begun work on a sort of a side story, starring Elisha... anybody interested???**


	4. Chapter 4

Vanessa couldn't move quickly enough out the door, her feet flying across the marbled floor as Elisha called out to her. But Vanessa didn't hear her. She didn't hear anything, in fact, except the beating of her heart as its pace quickened with her every step. Something was wrong, very wrong, and she needed to get to the hospital back in Indiana.

Some small part of Vanessa's mind that was still functioning reminded her that she needed a plan. She didn't have a car, and she definitely didn't have money for a taxi. She wasn't sure, but the last time she'd checked, they didn't take master cards or IOUs. She froze on the steps just outside the dorms for a moment. What could she do? She shook her head, trying to make it work.

She needed a car; a car with relatively decent mileage that could get her back to Restwick in less time than the sixteen hour drive that it was. "Come on, girl. Think!" she commanded. She ran to the parking lot and gazed around, her eyes landing on a black jeep. She took a deep breath. "That'll work…"

Vanessa wasn't exactly a car thief. In fact, she didn't even have her license. Her older brother, Ben, had been however. He used to hotwire cars and take them out into the desert to race. Many cars had wound up in the junkyard earlier than they should have been because of him. Vanessa wasn't surprised when he became a professional race car driver, once he gave up his chop shop. That was before he abandoned her and her family, pretending that they didn't exist. He'd passed on a few of his tricks, however, and Vanessa somehow managed to get into the car and get it started without drawing anyone's suspicions.

She took the highway the first chance she got, which was starting to clear. People didn't usually want to be on the road when it started to get into the wee hours of the night. It was only 8pm, but the sky was dark and the air was crisp, and the threat of snow falling was rather imminent. Anyone with any sense had pulled off and checked into a motel. It was a bumpy drive, and she spent the first few hours just trying to adjust to the car going at inhuman speeds as she zigzagged around other cars and sped through the lanes. But then the roads were clear, and she pushed the jeep to its limits.

It was almost 10am by the time she reached the city limits of Restwick, and she'd shaved two, almost three, hours off of her driving time. The city was just starting to come alive, the homeless people heading towards shelters and the late risers heading to work. She knew the way to the hospital by heart, and nodded to Officer McMearny, who she'd had many encounters with, as she pulled into the lane headed to the hospital. He gave her a grim look, as though he'd expected to see her sooner or later, but didn't move. He nodded to the hospital and gestured for her to go, and Vanessa began to wonder exactly what could have happened. News traveled around Restwick quickly, and McMearny was a friend of the family after all of the times he'd arrested one of the Reynolds' brood.

She pulled into the hospital parking lot and found a space near the entrance, barely taking time to properly park the car before jumping out and running into the hospital quickly. She ran to the elevator and went up a few floors, finding herself in familiar surroundings almost instantly. Nurses and doctors she'd come to know looked surprised to see her for a moment, but Vanessa could see sadness in their eyes and feel a dark air about the place. She felt as though she were walking the gauntlet as she trudged down the halls to room 204, where her younger brother Trevor had been placed.

Vanessa stared into the hospital room numbly, her gaze resting on the boy asleep in the bed. She clenched her fists as she thought. He was so small… so fragile. _He's had so little time…_ Two years ago, Vanessa would have never thought any of this could happen. She didn't think it was possible. Her mother had left the past behind her, and Vanessa had followed her example. It was time for a new beginning, her mother had said. She scoffed now. _What a new beginning…_ _I think I would've taken the past._ Vanessa's mother, Charlotte, looked up from the chair beside the bed, where she sat holding Trevor's hand. She let go just as Trevor shifted in his bed and made her way over to Vanessa, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mom, what's going on?" Vanessa whispered. She was not about to wake Trevor from such a sound sleep, though it seemed her mother had not gotten any in a few days. Her eyes were red from crying and lack of rest.

"He- he was okay…" she said, choking back a sob. "He was okay, and then…"

"Mom?"

"The transplant… it didn't take." Charlotte said, tears streaming down her cheeks. Vanessa felt as though all of the oxygen had just been sucked out of the room. She had to consciously remind herself to breathe. She stared past her mother into the hospital room.

"So… so, it's over?" Vanessa asked, her voice breaking. Charlotte leaned against the wall and fell to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Vanessa clenched her eyes closed, hoping, praying that it was only a dream; that when she opened them, everything would be different. That none of it would be real.

But it was, and as she listened to her mother's sobs, it began to sink in just how helpless she really felt. What good was going to Ipswich and using her gifts to save Sarah and the others, if she couldn't even save her own family. _It's not fair…_

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"Oh, Reid…" Carrie moaned lightly as Reid trailed kisses across her neck, running his hands along her bare chest. She pushed him back against the wall, giving him a devilish grin before sliding a hand inside his pants. He let his head fall back against the wall, closing his eyes and letting out a low groan. She ran a hand across his well muscled chest and stood on her toes, kissing him hungrily. "Reid…"

"Vanessa…" Carrie froze. She stared up at Reid for a moment.

"What?" Carrie asked. Reid's eyes popped wide open and his jaw dropped. He would have started to mentally kick himself in the head, several times, if weren't too deep in shock. Carrie pulled her hand out of his pants and took a step back, shaking her head. "Vanessa?" Carrie asked icily. Reid scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled, his eyes perusing the room.

"Uhh…." Reid tried to think of something to say, an excuse, but could come up with nothing. "Ooops." He found himself wishing that he'd kept silent, as she gave him one good slap across the face, before pulling on her shirt and heading out the door. Reid stared after her, rubbing his cheek where she'd slapped him. He sighed. "Oh, shit."

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Kate Tunney sat in her room, in one of the rare moments when she had absolutely nothing to do, and read from a textbook studiously, taking notes as she turned the page. There was an exam coming up in a few days, and at Sarah's insistence, she'd cracked open the book and was trying her best to pay attention and not let her mind wander. She couldn't help it – after all, when was she ever going to need psychology in the real world? Kate sighed. For one thing, her family was loaded and so was Pogue's, so if they ever got married and had kids, they could always hire a nanny and a shrink. Besides, it wasn't like _she_ needed a shrink. No, if there was anything Kate Tunney needed, she decided that it was that pair of Manolo Blahniks she'd seen in the store the other day. "A girl can never have too many shoes." Kate announced idly, frowning at something in the book that she didn't understand. She was thankful for an excuse to close the book when she heard someone pounding furiously at her door.

She slammed the book closed, wishing that it would somehow make the whole thing disappear, and walked over to the door. She checked her hair and make up in the mirror quickly before opening it, jumping out of the way instantly as Carrie came barging in and began to pace about the room, a look of pure loathing on her face. Kate had the thought to run away, but quickly changed her mind. Carrie was one of the fastest runners in the school – she'd catch up to her without a problem. She walked over to her bed and sat down, crossing her legs, and watched Carrie pace for a few more moments. Carrie stopped momentarily and turned to Kate, opening her mouth to say something, then starting to pace again. Kate waited patiently for Carrie to begin, feeling her nerves begin to unravel, until she couldn't take it anymore. "Uh…. Carrie?"

"I can't believe him!" Carrie screamed suddenly. Kate jumped back in surprise. "That- that…. ASSHOLE!" Kate frowned.

"Wha-"

"He's been flirting with me since the beginning of school!" Carrie screamed, stopping when she spoke and then starting to pace again. "He said I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen! He said I had a great body!" Carrie threw herself down on Sarah's bed. "I bought special lingerie for him." Kate bit her lip.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in total confusion. Carrie frowned.

"I mean, okay, he's a total player and he was only using me to get off." Carrie said, Kate's eyes widening at her words. "And I get that he's totally in love with that wacko chick Vanessa, but I was giving him a hand job for crying out loud."

"Are you talking about Reid?" Kate asked, sliding to the end of the bed. Carrie sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"We were in his room, attacking each other." Carrie said. "I slipped my hand _down his pants_, and he calls out her name." She deepened her voice in mockery of a typical jock stereotype. "Vanessa…" Kate burst into laughter. Carrie glared at her, feeling a kind of anger that Carrie had not believed that she was capable of. "It's not funny!" Carrie whined. Kate struggled to speak through her laughter.

"N-no… it's… not." But after a few moments, she found that she couldn't maintain it. Kate's laughter was strangely infectious, and Carrie soon found herself laughter along with her. She had to laugh, she thought. She had to laugh, or she might cry. Kate and Carrie laughed until they clutched their sides and their faces turned red.

"This is so not right…" Carrie said when she caught her breath.

"You were hooking up with Reid?" Kate asked. "Do you know how dangerous that is? The guy's practically a walking STD." Carrie groaned.

"Well, I don't have to worry about anything, now do I? We didn't get the chance to do anything… although now I want to wash my hands." Carrie said. She frowned. "Profusely."

"So he actually said her name?" Kate asked, grinning. Carrie scowled.

"Asshole." she mumbled.

"So he's really in love with her…" Kate mused. _Way to call it, Pogue._ She made a mental note to congratulate her boyfriend on how well he knew his friends.

"I guess so." Carrie mumbled miserably. She looked toward Kate. "I owe you a fifty." Kate leaned back against her headboard, stunned. "Dammit!" Carrie screamed suddenly. "What's a girl gotta do to get laid around here!?"

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Reid sat in his bed, staring at the wall. _What the hell have you done now?_ Reid scolded himself. _You've gone and fallen in love with her._ "No I haven't." Reid mumbled, scowling at his thoughts. _Don't try to deny it. _"Just because I think about her constantly and how amazing she'd look naked, in my bed… that doesn't mean that I'm in love with her." Reid said. "I want to hear her screaming my name in the throes of passion, yes. Love, no." He adjusted his pants and glared at the door as it opened and his roommate, Tyler, came bounding in. He looked at Reid for a moment before tentatively walking over to his desk and setting down his books, stealing glances back every few seconds. Tyler pulled out his chair and sat down, sighing. He leaned forward and gazed at his friend intently.

"So… you finished sooner than expected?" Reid glared daggers at him, and a small part of Tyler was actually scared, but not scared enough to make a difference. "You know they make pills for that now." Tyler narrowly dodged the heavy book that Reid threw at him. He glanced around the room. "Right…. that's not it." Tyler sighed again as his brow furrowed in thought. He scratched his chin. "Okay… so you were kissing her, and it wouldn't go up. It happens to the best of us." Tyler said supportively. Reid jumped off the bed in anger and gave Tyler a very threatening look.

"I'm _not_ impotent." Reid growled. Tyler hid a smirk and cleared his throat.

"Okay." Tyler said. "So, you-"

"There is nothing _wrong_ with my penis." Reid snapped. Tyler frowned.

"So, what's the problem?" he asked. "Usually, you go at it for hours and you can hear the girl screaming four rooms down." Tyler shook his head. "It happened so often, and always at the same time. It was practically routine. I don't know what I'll do now." Tyler said.

"Are you trying to say something?" Reid asked, narrowing his eyes. Tyler looked around and shook his head.

"No." Tyler said quickly. Reid's chest puffed up as he glared down at his best friend.

"Just because I'm good at sex and girls like to have sex with me, that doesn't make me some kind of-"

"Manwhore." Tyler finished for him. Reid resisted the urge to hurt Tyler and sat back down on the bed. He thought for a moment and sighed.

"I'm a manwhore." he said finally.

"Yup." Tyler agreed.

"Look, I had Carrie in here, and I was kissing her." Reid began. "And she was into it, and then all of the sudden…" Reid paused, mentally kicking himself once again.

"And then?" Tyler prompted. Reid's scowl deepened.

"I called her Vanessa." Reid mumbled.

"What?" Tyler leaned closer to Reid. "I didn't catch that."

"I called her Vanessa." Reid snapped. Tyler started to laugh. "Oh shut up." Tyler shook his head.

"It's ironic, really." Tyler said. "The girl assaults you, predicts Caleb and Sarah's death, and could possibly be some kind of demon trying to kill us, and you want to jump her bones."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Reid mumbled.

"So what happened next?" Tyler asked. Reid rolled his eyes.

"I called Vanessa over and the three of us went at it." Reid said sarcastically. "What the hell do you think happened?" Tyler smirked.

"The second girl to turn down the great Reid Garwin!" Tyler exclaimed. "This is becoming a trend." Reid glared at his friend.

"So, you and Elisha?" Reid asked with an evil grin. "Just how long were you planning to hide that?" Tyler frowned.

"She's shy, you know." Tyler said. Reid grinned.

"How long?" he asked.

"How long, what?" Tyler looked at him in confusion.

"How long have the two of you been together?" Reid asked.

"A little over a month." Tyler replied. He ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Look at us, huh? I'm in love with a girl who won't claim me, and you're in love with a girl who'd sooner beat the shit out of you than dance with you." They sighed and sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, wanna call some strippers?"

"Manwhore."

"Shut up!"

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"Vanessa!"

Vanessa smiled down at her brother as he sat in his bed, scribbling on a piece of paper with a crayon. "Hey Trevor!" she greeted him. She took a seat in the chair her mother had occupied a little bit ago, before Vanessa sent her home to try and sleep, though they both knew that they wouldn't be getting any rest any time soon. Vanessa had agreed to look after him and keep him company for a few hours. "Whatcha drawing?"

"Podge!" he exclaimed happily. Vanessa frowned in confusion.

"Podge?" she asked. Trevor glanced around nervously and motioned for her to come closer. Vanessa gave him a perplexed look as she leaned in close to him and he whispered to her.

"Over there." he whispered, pointing to something covered by a sheet on the wall counter. Vanessa looked at it, then back to Trevor, who nodded to her. She stood up and stealthily made her way over, peaking under the sheet. "Mom got him for me a couple days ago. I was drawing a picture to send to you."

"He's so cute!" Vanessa squealed as a tiny hedgehog bounced around in the cage, happy at the sudden attention. "Hello, Podge." Trevor giggled.

"His birth certificate says he was born on November 27th." Trevor said.

"The same day as you." Vanessa replied. "I guess you guys were meant to be friends." She sighed and turned back to her brother. "So how've you been doing, Trev?" Trevor made a face as he started to scribble again.

"Mommy cries a lot." he said. He stopped scribbling and looked up at her. "Are you coming back so Mommy doesn't cry anymore?" Vanessa felt as though she wanted to cry herself. She sighed and sat down at the edge of his bed.

"I really, really want to." Vanessa said. Trevor started to scribble again.

"They're putting up a Christmas tree on Monday." Trevor said, picking a purple crayon to color in cartoon Podge's eyes.

"Really?" Vanessa asked, smiling. Trevor looked up at her with an excited smile.

"Dr. Mumfrey says I can help!" Trevor said. "And the other kids are going to help too. Freddy's making popcorn strings, and I'm going to help string up the lights!"

"That's so cool." Vanessa said.

"Can you come!?" Trevor asked suddenly. "On Christmas Eve, Santa's gonna come, and we're all going to have _nasty_ hospital food, and Freddy wants to start a food fight and cover Santa in clumpy vanilla pudding!" Vanessa laughed.

"Are you sure that won't get you on the naughty list?" Vanessa asked, feigning a serious look. Trevor gave her a scheming look.

"Maybe, but I've got that covered." Trevor said smartly. "I'm gonna play the sympathy card – having to be in the hospital on Christmas Eve." Vanessa's face fell, but she covered it quickly. She wondered if Trevor knew what was happening. Charlotte would've done and said anything to keep her son comforted, but Vanessa knew better than most people how kids could pick up on things, and Trevor… well… it wasn't his first time in the hospital. He started to color again.

"Daddy visits me sometimes." he said shortly. "But he doesn't stay long. Mommy cries a lot." It didn't take a genius to figure how those two thoughts were connected. Vanessa felt a sudden surge of anger, but pushed it aside. Trevor scowled. "And he doesn't like Podge. He won't pet him."

"I'll pet Podge." Vanessa offered. Trevor pushed his things aside suddenly and gazed at her with wide eyes. "Do you want to hold Podge?"

"YEAH!" Trevor practically jumped out of the bed in excitement. Vanessa walked over to the cage and picked up the tiny hedgehog, walking over to the bed and putting him in Trevor's cupped hands. He gazed down at the little creature excitedly as Podge scratched himself quickly, then readjusted himself in Trevor's hands and curled up to sleep. Vanessa smiled as Trevor stroked Podge's head softly, the creature's eyes closing lazily.

"You know I missed you, right?" Vanessa asked. "You know I love you?"

"I love you too." Trevor said. He glanced up at Vanessa, a sad look in his eyes. "You're not going to cry, are you?"

"No." Vanessa lied. "No, I'm not gonna cry." _Please, God, don't let me cry…_

Vanessa's time with Trevor didn't seem nearly long enough. It didn't seem to have been any real time at all, and Vanessa regretted all of the time she had wasted away from him at Spenser Academy. Her place was here, with her family. Not at some academy full of snooty people who couldn't give a damn about anything except what was in fashion. It was pathetic. There were barely any decent people at that school.

Except maybe Sarah… and Kate, she was nice, Vanessa decided. And… Vanessa wasn't sure what she thought of Reid, Pogue, Caleb, and Tyler. Except that they were all cute… and very muscular. But they had some kind of secret they weren't telling her, and she had a good feeling that it something to do with her vision, though she had no way of confirming her suspicions. There was nothing she could do, really, except hope that one of them would tell her.

She couldn't help them if they weren't willing to trust her; that was the bottom line. She could only do so much, and she would be needed at the hospital, which threw another kink in her 'I am a decent person who has to do the right thing and save Sarah and Caleb' plan. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, feeling tired herself. It hadn't seemed as long it had really been when her mother returned, bearing extra strong coffee that greatly resembled tar and donuts. Vanessa gratefully took the cup and sipped on it leisurely, still stuck in her thoughts.

"So, does the school know you're gone?" Charlotte asked quietly. Vanessa stared stoically into her cup. She took a deep breath, knowing this conversation was not going to end well.

"No." she whispered, preparing for the barrage of yelling. Her mother closed her eyes and shook her head.

"And Will?" Charlotte asked, referring to Vanessa's stepfather. Vanessa sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I think we both what he's been doing." Vanessa said. Charlotte glared over at her daughter.

"Don't talk about your father like that." Charlotte snapped.

"_Step_father." Vanessa corrected. Charlotte let it slide as she took a long sip of her coffee.

"How did you get here?" she asked quietly. Vanessa bit her lip, not wanting to respond. This was _definitely_ not going to end well.

"I… borrowed a car." Vanessa said, sliding down in her chair. Her mother gave her an angry look that Vanessa interpreted as saying that she was heading right back to Spenser Academy just as soon as she finished her coffee. Vanessa guessed that her being there for Trevor and her mother meant nothing, not after the realization that Vanessa ditched school and drove there without a license. Vanessa thought for a moment that she should have lied and said someone had given her a ride, but that would've gotten her into even more trouble, with questions of who they were and what they were like, and how could she let someone _else_ ditch school along with herself just for a ride to Indiana? Vanessa shook her head. No, she choose… mostly… the right words, in a situation where there really weren't any right words at all. She and Charlotte silently drank their coffee, and as Vanessa was nearing the bottom of her cup, she turned to her mother. "D-…." Vanessa sighed and tried to work up the courage to ask her question. "Do you ever think about Dad and Grandmamma?" she asked timidly. Charlotte glared straight ahead and took a long drink of her coffee.

"No." she said curtly. She gave Vanessa an icy look. "You should go back to school." Vanessa choked back a few tears.

"You don't have to push me away, Mom." Vanessa said. Charlotte glared at her daughter. "Just because Ben's a jerk, and Joey got married, and Dad went away, that doesn't mean that I'm going to leave you. That doesn't mean that I want to. I'm your daughter!"

"Don't you _dare_ try to psychoanalyze me, Vanessa." Charlotte snapped. "You don't know _anything._"

"I know it killed you when Dad left." Vanessa said. "I know it kills you every day that Ben refuses to acknowledge us, and that Joey moved away to Japan, bu-"

"But what?" Charlotte asked. "You think you have any idea how I feel? I'm about to bury my _son_." Charlotte looked away for a moment, trying to maintain her composure and keep from showing the tears that were threatening to spill. "I've already lost a husband because he didn't want me, I'm losing another, I lost my two oldest boys, and I'm about to bury my baby." She gave Vanessa a cold look. "You know _nothing_." Vanessa stared down at her coffee cup, knowing it was the end of the argument. She looked up at the hospital room.

"I'm coming back to visit Trevor." Vanessa said. "I don't care what you say." Charlotte gave her daughter a hateful look. Vanessa stood up and grabbed her coat, wrapping it around herself. "I'm saying goodbye to Trevor before I go." She turned to walk into the hospital room, but froze at her mother's words.

"You're not my daughter." Charlotte whispered. Vanessa's heart seemed to stop, and she turned back to her mother, feeling as though her heart was breaking.

"You really think sending me away and cutting me off, pretending that I don't exist, will make you feel better?" Vanessa asked. "Shit happens, Mom. It sucks, and hell if I know why it happens, but it does. But ignoring it doesn't make it go away, and ignoring me isn't going to stop the hurting." She sighed, wiping tears from her face. "And Joey didn't leave you, Mom. He got married and moved away to Japan to study, because that makes him happy, which is what you always wanted for him, remember?"

"Say goodbye to Trevor, and _get out._" her mother commanded, and Vanessa reluctantly followed her wishes.

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

"Has anybody seen my car?" Tyler asked, bursting into the locker room. Pogue, Reid, and Caleb all glanced at each other as they changed into their swim trunks.

"In the locker room?" Caleb asked. He shook his head. "No, not really." Tyler glared at him.

"It's not in the parking lot." Tyler said. "I think someone stole my car. I love my car!"

"Relax. You're probably just looking in the wrong place." Pogue said, stretching his legs. Tyler shook his head.

"No, I'm not!" Tyler protested. "I always park it in the same spot. I go out and watch it every morning, to see the sun shining off it." Reid laughed.

"Maybe you love that jeep of yours a little too much." Reid commented. "Does Elisha know?" Tyler glared at him.

"Not this again…" Tyler groaned. "Don't you guys have anything better to do besides tease me about Elisha?"

"No." they replied. Tyler scowled.

"Reid screamed out for Vanessa during sex with another girl last night!" Tyler said, pointing at Reid. Reid froze like a deer in the headlights as Pogue and Caleb looked between the two, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Reid glared over at Tyler, and Tyler actually _was_ worried this time.

"You're dead." Reid growled. Tyler's eyes widened and he took a few small steps towards the door, followed by Reid. Tyler grabbed the door to the locker room and ran out quickly, followed closely by Reid, who was a faster runner than Tyler and, regrettably, unburdened by clothes. Caleb shook his head.

"He's going to regret that." Caleb said, and then frowned at Pogue. "I guess I owe you a fifty." Pogue grinned. "Do you ever think its wrong that we all bet on each other's love lives?" They gave each other a serious look.

"Nah." they both agreed at the same time.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

It was starting to get late when Tyler and Reid were heading out to Nicky's. When Reid reminded Tyler that he didn't have a car, because someone apparently stole it, they walked down to Elisha's dorm room, hoping to beg her to be seen in public with Tyler and give them a ride to Nicky's. They had been trading sarcastic remarks since Tyler had told the others about Reid calling out for Vanessa. Tyler scowled as he knocked on Elisha's door, all of his troubles seeming to slip away as soon as she opened it. He smiled at her for a moment, before seeing her worried expression. "What's wrong?" he asked. Elisha sighed, and nodded to Reid, who gave her a lecherous grin.

"Vanessa went charging out of the room last night, and she hasn't been back since." Elisha answered. "She won't answer her cell phone, and she wouldn't tell me what was wrong, but I think it was something bad." Reid was suddenly serious and very worried, though he tried not to show it.

"When did she leave?" Reid asked, frowning. Elisha shook her head, thinking.

"Umm… around seven… maybe eight." Elisha said. "She wasn't in any of her classes today." She frowned at Tyler. "And I think she stole your car." Tyler clenched his fists. _My car…_

"Did you talk to the counselor?" Reid asked. "Or anybody?"

"They can't do anything until a full twenty-four hours have passed." Elisha said miserably. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked suddenly. Tyler gave her his best adorable smile.

"Will you, kind, wonderful, sweet, amazing, beautiful lady, give us a ride to Nicky's?" Tyler asked. Elisha let a small smile grace her lips, which Tyler found looked especially delectable that night. Reid's mind was on other things, like where Vanessa had disappeared to, and if she was okay.

He could admit it, he cared for the girl. He wasn't about to do anything about it. Reid Garwin never had sex with anyone he really cared about. At least, he hadn't in the past. In Vanessa's case, he might've made an exception, if he ever saw her again. Thoughts that he would normally deem as being ridiculous suddenly worried him. Maybe she ran away and joined a circus, and was never coming back. Or maybe she was really some kind of superspy out committing espionage. _Or maybe she's hurt and needs me…_

Reid shook his head, staring out the window of Elisha's car as she drove them to Nicky's after some begging on Tyler's part. Why would he think that Vanessa needed him? She probably had her own people to take care of her, the same way that he had Tyler, and Pogue, and Caleb. No, Reid, thought, she was probably fine… and even though he thought it to himself many, many times, he couldn't bring himself to believe it. He couldn't dismiss the worry, and as they pulled into Nicky's and saw Tyler's shiny black jeep sitting just outside, he felt strangely relieved, then worried all over again.

Especially as he took his first few steps into Nicky's bar, to see Vanessa Reynolds in the corner, talking to Aaron Abbott, of all people. She had what looked like a beer in her hands and was wearing the same thing she'd worn the day before when he'd taken her to meet Tyler, Caleb, and Pogue. Her eyes were cloudy and she seemed to be flirting with Aaron, who Reid knew was just looking to add another notch in his bedpost, so to speak. Reid sighed and walked over to her as she leaned in and gave Aaron a kiss, wrapping her arms around him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Hey!" Vanessa screeched.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Aaron asked, giving Reid a loathing look. Reid looked at Aaron for all of three seconds before pulling his fist back and punching Aaron right in the face, knocking him unconscious to the floor. Vanessa watched it with wide eyes and burst into drunken laughter. Reid glared at her and picked her up, putting her over his shoulder, and heading towards the door. The others watched as she beat against his back, and nodded in acknowledgement. Tyler reluctantly gave him his keys.

"Put me down!" Vanessa screamed. "Put me down, you- you…" Vanessa gazed around lazily, trying to come up with an insult in her drunken state. She burst into laughter suddenly. Reid opened the car door and set her down on the seat, buckling her in. She gazed up at him. "Put me down!" she commanded. Reid sighed.

"You are down." he said. Vanessa stared at him and looked down at herself, giggling. He made sure she was in the car safely and closed the door, heading to the driver's side. He opened the door and smirked at the sight of the wires hanging down from the dashboard. _So that was how she got Tyler's car…_ He looked up at her again. And now she was completely wasted. Something happened, Reid decided, and he needed to know what. He got in the car and started it, which wasn't easy with Vanessa leaning over and trying to nibble on his ear every few seconds. They drove for a little bit before Reid turned to Vanessa. "What happened?" he asked. Vanessa laughed.

"Beer is good." Vanessa stated, laughing. Reid would have found the situation very amusing, had he not been so worried. Her short hair was unruly, and she slightly resembled a troll doll. Her clothes were wrinkled, her makeup smudged, and she was just about as drunk as she could get, but she still looked beautiful, Reid thought. Something had happened, Reid was sure of that, and it had set Vanessa off. He sighed, feeling the need to comfort her, but not knowing how.

"Where did you go?" Reid asked. "What happened?" Vanessa frowned and looked away from him.

"What are you mad about?" Vanessa asked. Reid glared at her.

"You were making out with Aaron Abbott!" Reid said, feeling sick at the very thought. Vanessa laughed.

"Is _that_ who that was?" Vanessa asked. She shook her head. "I thought he was Orlando Bloom." Reid gazed over at her incredulously. He didn't think she was _that_ drunk. "Hey, you're cute." Reid had to remind himself that she was drunk and that he shouldn't really feel happy about her opinion, but he did. In truth, Reid was strangely elated to hear her say that, even if she was drop dead drunk. "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you back to the dorms." Reid replied. "How did you even get beer in the first place?"

"You're no fun." Vanessa said. "Take me back. I wanna talk to Aaron!" Reid was starting to get angry.

"Fuck Aaron!" Reid snapped. "Talk to me!" Vanessa glared at him, which almost looked comical.

"Talk to you!?" Vanessa scoffed. She pointed a finger at him. "You just want to get in my pants." Reid rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, so does Aaron." Reid retorted, watching the road. He looked at Vanessa just in time to see her eyes tear up, before she covered it with a drunken grin. He sighed. "Vanessa, come on. Just…" Vanessa bit her lip and stared out the window, leaning her aching head against the headrest.

"You know, my mother didn't always have a lot of money." Vanessa said. "She used to work at Staples." She closed her eyes and smiled, Reid listening intently to her ever word. "My brothers and I would visit her at work sometimes. We'd play hide and seek in all the office furniture." She laughed. "We used to sit in the swivel chairs and spin. Just keep spinning, and spinning, and spinning…" She opened her eyes and gazed at the ceiling. "And then she wrote her books, and she met _William_. And everything changed…" She smiled suddenly. A genuine smile, that Reid found just seemed to _fit_ her, if only she would smile more often. "And then came Trevor, my little brother." She turned to Reid with tears in her eyes. "And then he got sick."

"Sick?" Reid asked softly.

"My little brother has leukemia." Vanessa said. "He's only seven, and he's going to die." Reid felt sick, genuinely sick, at her words. She rubbed her nose and let out a bitter laugh. "He had one of those transplants, you know, with the marrow, but it didn't work." Reid didn't know what to do, what to say. It was a situation he had never been in before, trying to comfort someone, or be close to someone, really. His life had been filled with nannies, boarding schools, and one night stands. He'd never imagined that he'd find himself here, driving the woman he was desperately in love with home after she'd made out Aaron Abbott, and trying to come up with something to say after hearing her younger brother was going to die. She started to cry. "He's only seven. He's too young to die. Why can't it be me?" she cried. Reid pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked at her, brushing some of her hair away from her face. "Why can't it be me instead of him? I'll gladly go if he can be okay…" He pulled her into his arms, and she sobbed into his shirt. Reid wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing, and it wasn't long before she had cried so much that his shirt was soaked with tears, but he didn't care. He just wanted her close, to hold her, to try and help her. Something that Reid had never felt before was drawing him to her, and as she cried into his arms, he found that he really didn't want to let her go.

He didn't know how long they were there before she ran out of tears and started giggling again. "You have nice arms." she said, grinning, and Reid found himself chuckling. She took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of his coat. "You smell like flowers…" she whispered, remembering the coat she had been wrapped in when she first showed up at Spenser. He reluctantly let her go and she curled into the chair and closed her eyes as Reid drove the rest of the way back to the dorms.

When they made it there, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the building. _She's so light…_ He opened the door to her dorm room and walked over to Vanessa's bed, setting her down softly and covering her with the blankets. He knelt down beside her, stroking the side of her face affectionately. He didn't understand her, not in the least.

Or maybe he really did, Reid thought. Maybe that was what was scared him the most. He sighed, and with a kind of tenderness that he would probably never show her awake or sober, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips, savoring the moment long after it ended. He stood up and trudged out the door, unsure of where to go or what to do.

Vanessa's eyes slowly opened and she gazed at the closed door longingly, tears that she couldn't refuse to shed any longer falling. "Reid…"

**A/N: So, I actually meant to have this up yesterday, but I have an anxiety disorder, and spent the weekend hyperventilating and having a nervous breakdown, so all of Monday was spent vegging and trying to recover. Not to mention that my mother has taken up residence in my room, so it's cramped, I no longer have a floor, and basically have no privacy. Isn't life swell?  
So now it's your turn. Do you have an embaressing, random, or just plain stupid story to share? A chance encounter with someone you admire? A school horror story? Maybe you had a sexy dream about someone? Review and tell me.  
Seriously, it'll make my day to have someone to comiserate with.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay guys, I know, it's been a while. Please don't be mad! There's some extra fluff and length in this chapter to make up for my absence! In my defense, however, I'm not exactly the greatest writer in the world/this isn't exactly the most well thought out/written story in the world, so I didn't think you guys would miss me all that much!  
And if you don't accept that argument, I went on zoloft and became a zombie - no creativity, no motivation, and no personality! Writing this chapter took a lot of pacing and bashing my head into the wall!  
And so, on a final note, music in this chapter is the song Umbrella, as performed by, not Rihanna, but Marie Digby, because I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I first heard it a couple days ago! If you wanna check it out, search 'marie digby' and 'umbrella'** **on youtube - she videotaped herself playing the songs, and that's how she got big. you have the love the internet...**

_It was dark, the place where I found myself. Quiet, and dark, and damp, surrounded by the same strange feeling of dread that seemed to fill the school, and for a long moment, I forgot to breathe. There were no stars in the skies, only heavy clouds. There was no moon, and it was cold... God, was it cold... _

_And then, there was a voice from somewhere behind me. I glanced around, seeing only the fog from my warm breath as it escaped my body and met the frigid air. I was alone in that place, but yet there was something there, waiting. No, not something... There was someone._

"_Vanessa..." It was like a whisper on the wind, soft and sickly sweet, sending uncontrollable chills up your spine. "Vanessa..."_

"_Yes?" My own voice sounded foreign to me._

"_Vanessa..." I closed my eyes, feeling the chill and the darkness. I needed to be away. I needed to be back home. I needed... I needed light. "Vanessa..."_

"_Dammit, what?!" I yelled. The wind shifted and the voice grew louder. I wanted to walk away, to find some kind of shelter or warmth, but I couldn't move. "What do you want from me?" And then the wind stopped, and I heard laughing. I glanced around, forcing myself to take small, shallow breaths and to face whatever it was. _

"_Oh, don't be so dramatic." It was a boy, about my age. "It's not like it's the end of the world."_

"_Chase, don't be a-"_

"_Reid, shut up." And then the darkness seemed to shift. There were people, ghosts almost, but still, it was dark. I knew myself, the forced, defensive stance of being so close to the edge. Reid was there, hair tousled, face bruised, standing between me and the one he'd called Chase – Chase, the boy with the black eyes. Chase shot Reid a hateful look, before turning those dark eyes on me once more. "Just give me what I want, and everyone will be safe." _

"_You don't have that power." I whispered. _

"_You want your father back?" Chase asked. "You want Trevor to be okay? I can make that happen." _

_It was like watching a film, until suddenly, I looked around, and I saw myself. "What the hell is going on?"_

"_You can't stop it." It came out as a whisper, barely reaching my ears._

"_Stop what?" I asked. Her eyes were dark, lined with tears and a kind of sadness that words could never express._

"_He's coming."_

"OH SHIT!" Vanessa jumped up in her bed, clutching her chest. She could feel her heart pounding madly, and for a moment she thought it might beat right out of her chest. It was a vision, definitely a vision of the future. Her head ached with the thoughts that were suddenly swirling. Chase... Chase... someone named Chase was coming. She had warned herself of that. And Reid knew him. How the hell had Reid known him?

And what did he want? "Vanessa?" Vanessa looked over at Elisha, sitting up in her bed. "Everything okay?" Vanessa wanted to shake her head, to tell her everything was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. But she couldn't... she just... couldn't. She nodded my head and leaned back.

"I just... had a strange dream." Vanessa replied. Elisha seemed to accept this, curling back in her bed, and glancing at Vanessa nervously every few seconds.

"You never did tell me..." Elisha whispered, and Vanessa frowned at her curiously as she spoke. "What that call was about." If she could've retched, she would have. She would have ripped open her chest and cut out her heart, so she didn't have to live with it anymore. Vanessa sighed, wishing that she felt numb instead of tentative and... as though she herself were dying.

"Trevor..." Vanessa had to choke out his name, and even as she did it felt like she was ripping out a piece of her soul. Vanessa tried to choke back the tears, to keep the emotion from coming, but she couldn't. She shook her head, she wouldn't. Trevor... he deserved tears to be shed for him. "My little brother... he's..." Telling Reid earlier... it had been easy. _No,_ she thought. It hadn't been easy, but it had just come out. It was like everything else Vanessa had ever known. It had built up so much that it all just came pouring out. But telling it to Reid... There was something familiar... something _right_ about that. _Wait..._ "Where's Reid?" Vanessa asked suddenly. Elisha's eyes widened a little in surprise.

"Reid?" Elisha asked. "As in Reid Garwin?" Vanessa nodded. "I thought you and Reid were like... mortal enemies?" Suddenly Elisha smiled. "Or maybe you're really lovers, just acting like you despise each other." If looks could kill, Vanessa would've been throttling Elisha with all the strength she had. "Oh my god, you're in love with him." Elisha said seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous." Vanessa replied, inwardly confused that the very thought of it didn't make her sick. "Me and Reid? That's..." Vanessa couldn't find a word to properly describe how she felt about that.

"You're _so_ in love with him." Elisha said, sitting cross-legged on her bed and staring at Vanessa.

"Oh, please. I've only been here a week. I couldn't possibly be in love with that big lout." Vanessa protested. "It's not realistic, it's not possible, and it sure as hell isn't very practical." Elisha laughed.

"Vanessa... love isn't practical." Elisha said. "Look at Romeo and Juliet." Vanessa groaned.

"Look at Helen of Troy." Vanessa said. Elisha shook her head.

"That wasn't love, that was _lust. _There's a difference." Elisha explained.

"That's me and Reid! It's all lust, not love. It's hormones, pheromones, a teenage sex drive!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"Nah, it's love." Elisha said, curling back up under her blanket. "Love, love, love, love, love..."

"You're delusional." Vanessa murmured.

"Don't worry." Elisha whispered. "I won't tell anyone."

"That's good. They'd lock you up in a loony bin." Vanessa replied. Elisha fell asleep with a smile on her face, leaving Vanessa awake with a headache and too many questions without any answers.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

_You had my heart, and we'll never be a world apart  
Maybe in magazines but you'll still be my star_

Reid took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _What the hell am I doing?_ He stepped forward to knock on the door, but froze when he heard Vanessa's voice on the other side. "Hey Mom... it's... it's me. I uh... I know that... you probably don't want to hear from me... umm..." He heard her curse quietly and stomp toward the door. He didn't even have enough time to take a step back or knock before she pulled the door open, glancing up at him in surprise. "Reid?" _What the __**hell**__ am I __**doing**__?_

"I uh... I wanted to walk you to class." Reid said awkwardly. Vanessa stared at him for a long moment, unsure of quite what she should do, before she smiled lightly.

"Oh... um... okay." Vanessa replied. Reid smirked slightly.

"Okay?" he asked. Vanessa nodded.

"Okay." she confirmed. She laughed at Reid's look of relief and took a step out the door, heading down the hall towards her first class.

_But baby 'cause in the dark you will see shiny cars  
And that's when you need me there_

_What the hell am I doing?_ Vanessa glanced at Reid out of the corner of her eye. _And why am I so nervous?_ "So... umm..." _Come on, girl! Say something!_ Reid looked in her direction and for a second she froze, before stumbling forward and continuing the trek towards class. "What... are your plans for the day?" she asked, mentally kicking herself at the question.

"Oh, I'm going to be dodging detention." Reid replied. Vanessa frowned.

"Wait, dodging detention?" Vanessa asked.

"Yep."

"So, what? Did you just wake up this morning and decide, 'Hey, think I'll piss off a teacher or two and get myself into detention'?" Vanessa asked. Reid laughed. _He has a nice smile..._

"No, but that _is_ a good idea." Reid said. "It's the physics exam today. I'm skipping class." Vanessa stopped mid-step and stared at him, horrified.

"Oh. Shit." Reid burst out in laughter.

"You didn't study, did you?" he asked, giving her a stern look. She glared at him.

"Oh, like you did." Vanessa said, scowling.

"I don't need to study." Reid replied. "I'm brilliant." Vanessa's right eyebrow rose.

"So brilliant, in fact, that you're skipping class and dodging detention?" Vanessa asked. Reid got a mischievous look on his face before taking a step forward her, gazing down at her.

"Come with me?" he asked. _Dammit, Reid. Don't scare her..._ Vanessa scowled up at him. "Come on... one day, away from all of this..." _Away from everything else..._ Vanessa considered it for a long moment before sighing.

"But what would we do?" she asked. Reid grinned.

_With you I'll always share because_

"That's disgusting."

"What?"

"Put it away!"

"It's not that bad."

"It's so small..." Vanessa whined. "And slimy." Reid glared at her.

"It's a snail. How else would it be?" he asked, holding up a plate of escargot.

"I am _not_ eating that." Vanessa said, scowling at the plate in his hands. Reid scowled in return and set it down on the table between them.

"It's the single, most disgusting thing that you will _love_ to eat." Reid said. "You just have to try it." Vanessa frowned at him.

"But I think it's still alive." she whined, pointing at it. "Look, see, it's moving!" Reid laughed.

"It is _not_." Reid said. Reid reached down and Vanessa watched in horror as he dipped it in butter and popped the little snail into his mouth, chewing briefly before swallowing.

"Ew." Vanessa squealed in disgust. Reid laughed, grabbing her hand.

"Now it's your turn." Reid said. He picked up a snail and set it in her hand. Vanessa stared at it, frowning, before looking up at Reid. "Go on." She looked down at it and sighed.

"You're sure it's dead?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm sure." Reid said, nodding. "Go on."

"It's not going to suddenly come alive after I stick it in my mouth and start slithering around in there?" Vanessa asked, her mind imagining every possible scenario. Reid laughed and shook his head.

"It's dead." he said.

"It's not going to lay eggs in my stomach and two weeks from now, thousands of snails will pop out of my stomach, like in Aliens?" Vanessa asked, stalling.

"Funny, I don't remember that scene." Reid said dryly. "But I think you're safe."

"You _think_-"

"Vanessa..." Vanessa took one last look at the snail before clenching her eyes closed and putting it in her mouth, swallowing quickly.

"Well?" Reid asked, watching her closely. Vanessa opened her eyes and looked at him. She would've smiled, he looked so much like a little kid, happy and excited, except that she'd just eaten a snail and wanted desperately to throw up.

"Still disgusting." Vanessa said, reaching for a glass of water. Reid frowned.

"Really?" he asked. He glanced down at the plate before dipping another snail and taking a bite. "Tastes good to me."

"Must be a guy thing." Vanessa said, taking a sip of water. Reid glared at her.

"A guy thing?" he asked. Vanessa nodded. "Okay, fine. Show me something." Vanessa looked at him curiously.

"Show you something?" she asked. He nodded.

"Show me something." he said. "One of your _things_." Vanessa laughed and shook her head, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

"No." Vanessa replied.

"Why?" Reid asked. "I want to see."

"No, I- I don't have any _things_." Vanessa said. "I'm boring."

"I wouldn't say that." Reid objected. "Look at you. You just ate a snail!" Vanessa laughed. "That's hardly boring." Vanessa smiled up at him, feeling her cheeks grow hot. "Show me... please?"

_When the sun shines we shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever_

"Oh, please. Nobody talks like that."

"Shh!"

"Just tell me how it ends." Reid said, looking at Vanessa.

"Absolutely not. You'll just have to suffer through!" Vanessa said, grabbing some popcorn from the bowl in front of her and turning her attention back to the movie. Reid sighed and hunched down on the floor next to her, pouting. "_You_ wanted to watch it, remember? You asked..."

"I know, I know." Reid said. He looked over at her. "So why do you like this movie?"

"What?" Vanessa asked, looking over at him.

"Why do you like this movie?" he asked again.

"Why do you like snails?" Vanessa countered. Reid thought for a moment before sighing and answering.

"My mom... she was throwing this big party, that turned out to be a disaster. Everything went wrong." Reid said, running a hand through his hair. "The food was bad, people got sick... and she and my dad has this big fight, and he stormed out." Reid sighed and shook his head. "The snails were the only thing that were left over and wasn't bad, so she and I..." He smiled. "We sat in the kitchen all night, eating snails and laughing." Vanessa smiled.

"Wow..." She gave him a teasing look. "Reid Garwin... a mama's boy."

"Shut up." he replied, laughing. Vanessa glanced down at the popcorn.

"My parents split when I was really little." Vanessa said. "My dad didn't really... I guess he had other things that were important, and he didn't keep in touch." Vanessa swallowed, blinking back tears. "A couple years ago, I was going through his old stuff, and I found this movie."

"I'm sorry." Reid said. Vanessa shook her head. "He didn't keep in touch at all?"

"My Grammy used to be around, and she'd tell me stories about him, but my mom moved away and after that she wouldn't let me talk to her." Vanessa said. Reid frowned.

"Why?" he asked. Vanessa chuckled bitterly.

"Because she was teaching me about gypsy magic." Vanessa answered. She scrunched down a little, leaning against the back of the couch, and timidly shifted toward Reid a little, leaning her head down on his shoulder and smiling when he didn't seem to mind. They watched the movie in silence for a few moments before Reid couldn't take it anymore, and suddenly started saying the lines.

"Look, if you don't get on that plane you're going to regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life..." Vanessa just sat there laughing, feeling the happiest she'd felt in a long while, even with everything still stirring in the back of her mind. For a moment, it was happy. For a moment, it was calm. For a moment... it was safe.

_That I'll always be your friend__Took an oath, I'mma stick it out 'til the end__Now that it's raining more than ever  
know that we still have each other_

"You know what else Casablanca is good for..." Vanessa said, smiling at Reid and feeling suddenly very brave.

"Sleeping?" Reid asked. Vanessa slapped his arm. "Okay, what?" Vanessa took a deep breath before forcing herself to say her next thought.

"M-making out." she said, stumbling on the words for a moment. Reid smiled.

"Really?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, yeah." Vanessa said. "Casablanca's a great make out movie."

"You know this for a fact?" Reid asked. Vanessa nodded.

"Of course."

"So you've made out to it before?" he asked, teasing her. She glared at him and he leaned down, kissing her lightly on the lips. Vanessa closed her eyes as the kiss deepened, praying to whatever god or deity was listening that the moment would never end – but it did, with the slam of a door.

Reid pulled back, shaking his hand and mumbled curses to himself as yelling echoed up through the halls. Vanessa couldn't understand what they were saying at first, but the yelling grew louder as it came closer, and the echoes started to make sense. "Covenant... it's too much!"

"It's not too much!"

"Don't you care about your son? About me!?"

"You don't have the right to-"

"Dammit, this is killing you!" Vanessa sat on the fat awkwardly, unsure of what to do. She glanced at Reid, who had completely pulled away from her, and felt her heart sink. He wasn't looking at her, or anything really. He seemed to just be staring off into space, tears waiting to fall hidden behind his eyes. She thought back to the first time she'd seen him, when she'd first arrived in Ipswich. He'd been... no, he'd appeared stronger, tougher. Now, he sat, on the edge, while his parents' screams cut through the air like glass cut through flesh.

She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him; she wanted to make the pain go away, but that was the one thing she knew she couldn't do. She could barely get through her own pain. How was she supposed to help him with his? "You don't understand!"

"I've been understanding for the last twenty-five years! You're stronger than this, you don't have to let it control you!"

"Shut up."

"You need help! Just admit it! You're addicted!"

"SHUT UP!" A yell, and then a crash, and the world fell silent. There was something in the air, something that Vanessa knew. It was the same feeling she'd had her first night, when she'd been awakened from sleep. But there was something else there as well, something... She didn't have time to think. Reid had jumped up the second he'd heard the crash and was running down the hall of the Garwin mansion. Vanessa had sat, watching for a moment, unused to not being the one who needed to run. She stood up and ran after Reid, following him down the hall, to the foyer. When she got to the stairs, she froze, staring down at the scene before her.

A woman, with long blond hair, in a dark blue dress, lying on the floor by the far wall. Dark red was staining the floor, had stained her dress – she wasn't moving. Dear god, she wasn't moving.

Reid was already beside her, pulling her over and examining her. He glanced at the man at the other side of the room, in his tuxedo. "Dad, what the fuck did you do?" But there was no reply. Reid's father just stood there, froze, staring. He had the let the look of a who was realizing what he'd done, how far he'd gone. "She's... she's not breathing... Dad, call 911!" Still, he didn't move. "DAD!" Reid cradled his mother in his arms and looked toward Vanessa. "Call 911!" Vanessa nodded and ran into the nearest room, hoping that there'd be a phone.

She picked up the phone and dialed 911, telling them to get there quickly. She hung up the phone and ran back out of the room, to where was trying desperately to get his mother to open her eyes, to speak, or just to show some sign of life. Waiting for the ambulance, it was as though time stood still. Nobody moved, nobody spoke, except for Reid who was trying everything he knew to do to make his mother respond.

_You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my umbrella_

_It won't work... _Vanessa knew, without having to know, the fight was done. It was over. His mother's fate had been decided. She closed her eyes, feeling the tears running down her cheeks and choking back the sobs. But then she felt something different, and she glanced up, to her right. She felt sick the second she saw it, his mother's spirit.

She stared down at her son sadly. "Oh, Reid..." she whispered. "You shouldn't have had to go through this... You shouldn't have to grow up this fast..." She looked toward Vanessa, sending a shiver down her spine. "Take care of my boy, Vanessa." She took a step towards Vanessa and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. _It's so cold..._ "He's going to need you." And then she was gone...

The doorbell rang, and Vanessa ran down the stairs and opened the door, knowing that it was already too late.

_The fancy things they're never coming in between__  
You're apart of my entity  
Here for infinity_

Caleb stopped to grab the homework for Reid as he and Pogue made their way out of the class. It had been a long hour, and he had honestly spent most of it trying to make his head stop hurting. And then, somewhere near the middle of class, he'd felt something, like someone was using.

He sighed as Pogue made eyes at Kate across the hall before she slipped into her final class of the day. "Head still hurting, huh?" he asked. Caleb shook his head. "You sure you're not hung over?"

"I'm not hung over." Caleb growled. Pogue laughed.

"Oh, well now I'm convinced." Pogue replied. Caleb watched a group of students as they passed, and a moment later turned to Pogue.

"Did you feel that, during class?" he asked. Pogue frowned.

"Someone using?" Pogue asked. "Reid? He hasn't been in school all day. Probably because of that damn physics exam."

"It wasn't Reid." Caleb objected. Pogue looked at him in surprise.

"How do you know?" Pogue asked. Usually, Reid was the first one to be suspected. Granted, since Chase had arrived, he hadn't used exorbitantly, but he wasn't exactly sparing. Caleb shook his head.

"I just... know." Caleb said. "But it's bad."

"_Reid!"_ Caleb and Pogue froze, glancing around the room.

"Did you..." Caleb turned to Pogue. It was a like, hidden somewhere on the wind for only them to hear. "What the hell was-"

"_Reid, you have to stop!"_ Caleb grabbed his keys from his bag and headed towards the parking lot, Pogue close behind, when his phone rang suddenly. He didn't stop moving as he grabbed it out of his bag, frowning at the number that he didn't recognize, before answering. Then suddenly he froze, and Pogue stared at him in surprise, waiting to find out what the hell was going on. Caleb pulled the phone away from his ear a moment later, staring down at it as though it was alien; something he had never seen before. "Caleb, what is it?" It was hard, forming a response. For some reason, the words just wouldn't come to Caleb. They wouldn't form themselves in a way that made sense. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's Reid's mom." Caleb answered. He looked at Pogue. "It's bad."

_When the war has took it's part  
When the world has dealt it's cards_

"Okay."

"Okay?" Tyler asked in surprise.

"Okay." Elisha said. "I want to be your girlfriend." Tyler smiled, feeling overjoyed. He leaned over and gave Elisha a long, deep kiss on the lips, pulling her close to him. He loved the feeling of her skin, of having her close. He loved the warmth, and how the rest of the world seemed to disappear when she was with him. "So... what happens now?" she asked, running her hand through his spiky hair. Tyler took a deep breath and thought for a moment.

"Now... we find some place quiet, where we can be alone." Tyler said, grinning. Elisha laughed.

"You're kind of a nympho, you know that?" Elisha asked. Tyler laughed, running a finger across her lips and staring down into her eyes.

"And you're perfect." Tyler whispered. He leaned down to give her another kiss, groaning as his phone rang just after his lips connected with hers.

"Leave it." she whispered. Tyler sighed.

"I can't." he said, flipping his phone open. "Yes?" he asked, somewhat impatiently. Elisha watched as he went from annoyed to shocked, growing worried with each passing second.

"Tyler?" she asked. When he didn't respond, she asked again. "Tyler, what's wrong?" He pulled the phone away and hung up.

"Reid's mom died." Tyler said. He looked at her. "I'm sorry, I have to go." Elisha nodded.

"Of course, go." Elisha said. She watched him walk away, worried. _Please, let everything be okay..._

_If the hand is hard  
Together we'll mend your heart because_

"Reid, you have to stop!" Vanessa yelled, grabbing his arm. Reid pulled away from her.

"No, she's not dead!" Reid yelled. "Do something!" he yelled at the doctors. "Do something! Do something!"

"Reid!"

"NO!" Reid yelled, pulling away from her. He glared at Vanessa. "She's not dead! She's going to be fine!" he yelled, sobbing. "She's going to be fine." He fell back against the wall, sliding to the floor. "She's going to be fine..." Vanessa watched him, crying.

"Reid?" Vanessa looked toward the hall, relieved to see Pogue, Caleb, and Tyler there. Caleb looked at Vanessa with a questioning expression, before heading to Reid. She watched them for a long moment before taking a seat and curling her legs up into her arms. She set her head down into her knees and let the tears fall. She cried for her troubles, she cried for Reid's father, she cried for Reid's mother, but most of all, she cried that Reid should have to suffer such pain.

An hour passed, then another, as they sat in the hospital waiting room. Nobody moved, until a few hours later a cop showed up, talking to the doctors. Vanessa watched as the cop walked away from the doctors towards Reid's father. She heard their voices faintly as they spoke. "I'm Officer Martins... I'm... so sorry for your loss." Reid's father nodded, seeming to have come out of his own stupor. "I uh... I need to take a record of exactly what happened."

"What happened?" the father asked, surprised. The officer nodded, and Vanessa knew everyone would be watching Reid's father as he answered. "Well, she... she... she fell."

"She didn't fall." Reid growled. "You killed her. You son of bitch, you killed her!" He jumped up, poised to attack his father, but Caleb and Pogue held him back. "You bastard! You killed her! You killed her!"

"Killed her?" the officer asked. He glanced between the two, Reid, about ready to murder his own father, and Mr. Garwin, seemingly there, but somehow... not.

_When the sun shines we shine together__  
Told you I'll be here forever__  
That I'll always be your friend  
Took an oath, I'mma stick it out 'til the end_

Pogue knocked at Kate's door, hoping that she wasn't planning another party. A few seconds later she opened the door, smiling up at him. "Hey, baby. What's up? You were supposed to meet me after class."

"Reid's mother died." Pogue said. Kate's face fell. She pushed the door open and moved aside for him to come in. He stepped inside, turning to her. "Kate, you know I love you?"

"Of course." Kate said, frowning. She grabbed his hand. "Pogue, are you alright?"

"I would never hurt you, not for anything." Pogue said. "You mean more to me than that. More to me than life. You're... everything."

"More to you than what?" Kate asked. Pogue brushed his hand through some of her hair, wanting to say everything, to tell her everything, but wanting to escape it all at the same time.

"Just... I love you, Kate." Pogue said. "I love you."

_Now that it's raining more than ever know that we still have each other  
You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my_

"Are..." Caleb stared down at his friend. He had offered to let Reid stay at his house for as long as he needed. This wasn't going to be easy, that Caleb knew. He'd had his own problems to work through, with what happened with his father. Hell, he was still working through them. But they hadn't been like this. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"What's going to happen to-" He couldn't say the words. He couldn't call him his father anymore. Not after what had happened. He was never really much of a father to begin with, but this... This went beyond anything...

"The police will probably want him." Caleb said. "But the others will take care of it." Reid wanted to care, wished that he cared. At least, somewhere inside of himself, he did. But the pain was still too fresh, the hurt too great. All he wanted was his mother back. All he wanted was his father gone, forever.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, leaning back on the bed of one of many of the guest rooms in Caleb's house. Caleb stood up and walked toward the door, look at Vanessa with sadness for a moment, before heading down the hallway to the stairs. Vanessa looked into the room for a second before taking a step inside, hoping that what she was doing was the right thing.

_You can run into my arms  
It's okay, don't be alarmed  
Come into me_

"Garwin."

"Perry." Reid's father turned around and stared across the room at his long time friend. He'd known this was coming. He'd known the second he'd slipped that was everything was about to change, that things would end like this. "It was an accident. I- I didn't mean-"

"We don't allow for accidents, you know that." he replied. Reid's father swallowed nervously.

"What's going to happen?" he asked. His friend shook his head.

"The rest of the Covenant are here." he answered. "You know what happens next." Reid's father nodded. He took a step back, shaking his head and sobbing silently.

"Tell my son-" he began. "Tell him, I'm sorry."

_So gonna let the rain pour  
I'll be all you need and more because_

Elisha ran over the door, relieved to see Tyler standing there. "What happened? Is everything okay?" she asked. "How's Reid?" Tyler stepped into the room, kissing Elisha with everything he had left. He was tired, physically, emotionally. He pulled her close, leaning his head on her for support. "Tyler?" she asked, worry slipping into her voice.

"Just stay close." Tyler whispered. "Stay close tonight." Elisha curled into him.

"Okay." she whispered.

_When the sun shines we shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever_

Caleb sat down on the edge of his bed and looked down at Sarah. He sighed. It was going to be a long night, for all of the Covenant. They had lost more than one of their own; they were all starting to lose their hope. He stood up and took off his coat and shoes, before sliding into the bed. Sarah rolled over and opened her eyes sleepily. "Caleb?"

"Hey..." he whispered. She rolled over and curled into him.

"Everything okay? It's late." Caleb opened his mouth to tell her, but he couldn't. He could hardly believe it himself.

"It's fine." he lied. "Go back to sleep." More and more, these days, he found himself lying to her. Now, he wondered, why it had happened this way. Why was he spending every waking moment lying to her? Was it really to protect her, to keep her safe?

Or was it somehow to protect himself?

_That I'll always be your friend  
Took an oath, I'mma stick it out 'til the end  
Now that it's raining more than ever know that we still have each other_

"Reid?" Vanessa hesitantly took a step into the room. He sat up reluctantly.

"You should go." Reid said. Vanessa shook her head and took another step. "I said, go."

"No." Vanessa said. "I'm not going anywhere." Reid glared at her. Couldn't she see? Couldn't she understand?

"You can't be near me." Reid growled. "Not tonight, not ever. You have to go away." His words cut at Vanessa, a fresh set of tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You can't push me away, Reid." Vanessa cried. "You just let me in, you can't push me away."

"Get out!" Reid yelled. Vanessa took a step forward and kissed him, pulling his face down to hers. He kissed her back, and for a moment, there was quiet. "Can't you see?" Reid cried. "Can't you understand? I'm just trying to protect you. I can't let that happen to you."

"It won't happen to me." Vanessa said.

"You can't resist it, you can't stop it." Reid said. "I'm going to be like him, but I won't let you be my mother."

"Reid, please, just tell what's going on." Vanessa pleaded. Reid took a deep breath.

"This... power, that we have... it's addictive." Reid said. "It ages us, every time we use it. It kills us." Vanessa stared at him in shock. "My mom, she tried to stop him. She tried to help him and he- ...you have to go." he said. "You have to get away from me." Vanessa wiped away her tears and forced him to look at her.

"Reid... I saw your mother."

_You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my_

"I'm not strong enough." Reid growled. "I can't protect you." Vanessa grabbed his cheek, savoring the warm feeling beneath her hand.

"Reid, you are strong enough." Vanessa said. "You're not your father."

"I don't want to lose you." Reid whispered.

_It's raining (raining)  
Ooh baby it's raining (raining)_

"Reid... Reid, listen to me..." Vanessa demanded. "I know you don't think you can do this, but you can. I know you can."

"My father couldn't. My grandfather couldn't." Reid said, shaking his head.

"You're not your father, or your grandfather." Vanessa said. "Your mother, she loved you so much. And I know she's here, crying with you now."

"I'm not strong enough."

"Reid Garwin, you are stronger than you will ever know." Vanessa said, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

"How do you know?" Reid asked bitterly. Vanessa blinked back tears.

"Because I know. Because I can see it." Vanessa said. "When I look in your eyes, and when I'm in your arms, I know. I know everything will be okay." she whispered. "I know no matter what happens, we'll survive. We'll make it through."

"We?" Reid asked. Vanessa nodded.

"We." she said.

_Come into me  
Come into me_

"Elisha?"

"Hm?" Tyler took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do.

"There's something I have to tell you." he whispered.

_It's raining (raining)  
Ooh baby it's raining (raining)_

Jacob Perry felt strangely numb as he stared down at the body of his friend. How could he have known, all those years ago, that they would end up here? How could he have known that they'd end up like this? With two of his friends, gone. And he and the one last member of the Ipswich Covenant, probably bound for the same fate?

No, he shook his head. He couldn't have known. He stared down at his hands, stained in red, and grimaced.

It was done.

_Come into me  
Come into me_

"I- I don't..."

"We don't have to talk." Vanessa said. She stood up and stared down at him, nervously. Her blood rushed to her face, flushing her cheeks. She tentatively touched the end of her shirt and, taking a deep breath, pulled it up, over her head.

"Vanessa..." Reid whispered. Vanessa shook her head and a put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"This is my choice." Vanessa said. "I need you, Reid. Just as much as you need me." She leaned in close to him, breathing in his scent. "_I love you..._" she whispered. He reached down, pulling her chin up to look her in the eyes.

"I love you." He leaned and kissed her, pulling her close. They broke away only long enough for him to pull off his shirt, before they fell on the bed. Skin touched skin, and for the first time in a long time, both people felt the rest of the world slowly slip away. Both Reid and Vanessa felt... complete.

_Under my umbrella..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, folks, this is my loooooooooongest chapter to date! Sorry this took so bloody long to get out. The school year officially ends on May 26th here, and as I'm a high school senior, you can imagine things have been pretty hectic - especially since I'm homeschooled. I'm studying to take the shiny exam that says 'hey, give me my diploma or suffer my wrath!!'... in any case, I think you're gonna love this chapter.**

It wasn't like he'd ever had a particularly great family life before. Using, drinking, parties... It was the Covenant's version of sex, drug, and rock 'n roll. Sure, his father loved his mother – at least, he thought he had... hadn't he? But they always ended up fighting, about using, about the drinking, about the affairs. Marriages didn't last long in the Covenant, not real marriages; the kind of marriages where both people love each other and want to stay with each other. No, Covenant relationships all ended in two people who were married, but only for convenience, and nothing more. Love was rarely part of the equation. It was fact. It was a curse.

But he'd loved his mother. He'd loved the times when he was little, and she'd come and find him after a fight with his father, and they'd just sit there, reading books, or watching cartoons, or they'd go out shopping or sit around eating snails. Even though the times were hard for his mother, he'd loved them, because he'd gotten to spend uninterrupted time around her, just himself and his mother. The times had been almost heavenly – and it was no secret that the other boys were jealous. Family wasn't exactly a huge priority either. The truth was, Reid had gotten lucky. In the moments when his father was sober, he'd cared. It wasn't often, but sometimes it happened.

And then Reid grew up, and his father had more important things and couldn't find time for him. Reid didn't much care then. He'd grown past the point where he needed or wanted his father around. If he'd ever had an honest conversation with someone, he would have been the first to admit, he'd grown bitter from his father's actions, but even more so from the endless cycle of using to addiction.

He'd never met his grandfather, not once. He'd been dead long before Reid was born. It wasn't just growing old, like Caleb's father, until he was so aged that he couldn't function without constant care. He'd heard the stories, he'd read the journals on the long, dark nights when the past haunted him so, that he could not find the peace of sleep. He used. Always, every day, like it was the air he breathed, or the ground he walked upon; like it was the most easily accessible thing in the world to him. He met his grandmother after graduation, and they got married, which was also a Covenant tradition to date, and he continued to use. When they'd found out his grandmother was pregnant, his grandfather celebrated by getting really, really drunk and using. It explained a lot about his father, in retrospect. His grandfather had passed when his father was only twelve, so it seemed just as inevitable to him that he would become addicted, just as Reid had believed for his entire life.

But his father had crossed the uncrossable line, and the Covenant would not allow such things to happen. It would be taken care of. He would be disappeared. There would be no body left for the police to find, no traceable evidence of where'd he been or what he'd been doing. They just had to lay low for a while, not be noticed. Reid closed his eyes and shook his head, wishing the aching and the thoughts that wouldn't leave would all just shut up and go away. In a single night, he'd become an orphan. He'd lost everything he'd known. Well, not everything...

He glanced at the sleeping body beside him, watching as Vanessa's chest rose and fell as she breathed. Short blond hair, not much different from his own, was tousled and sticking out in odd directions across his pillow. Soft, delicate features that were fragile, but that she tried to distort, to seem tough, were flush colored from sleep. He'd never expected to meet someone like her, not in a million years. She was different than the other girls at Spenser. She was different than any girl he'd ever met, and he couldn't believe that he actually understood how Caleb felt about Sarah. There was no other girl, not in the world, not in the universe. No one else existed. Everyone else was just a cheap imitation of the real thing, but the real thing was far too beautiful to miss.

Egyptian cotton sheets were pulled high, covering most of her body, but revealing just a hint of what Reid thought was perfect cleavage. Long legs were hidden beneath that sheet, muscled, but not to the point where she looked like a professional female weight lifter. She was soft... but he would never tell her that. He'd be too afraid that she'd turn around and punch him, like that first night at the party.

His life had been altered, forever. He could never go home, be in that place again. He wouldn't go to his father's funeral, because there wouldn't really be one. People would assume he'd run away with the secretary. His mother's funeral would be torture, but he didn't want to think about that. There were more important things that needed his attention.

Things like why the same song had been repeating in his head for the past hour and a half. Things like Casablanca, which was one of his new favorite movies. Things like... He frowned. Things like that strange looking bug crawling across the ceiling. He imagined it's tiny little bead-like eyes staring down at them, wondering what he would be thinking. Was it wrong for Reid to be with Vanessa? Was it wrong for him to care for her, to want to love her and have her love him back, when his life was so obviously bound for heartbreak? Or could he change things?

Could he escape the 'curse' of the Covenant, pave a new path, and find true happiness for once? All of the sons felt the weight of their heritage. Ascension, wanting to use, but only just enough. Addiction, death. Hurting the ones that you care about most. These things were unavoidable, just the way life ended. But maybe Reid wouldn't have to go through that. If he could give it up somehow, if he could... He sighed. Who was he kidding? If anyone could change the way of things, it was Caleb. Caleb was decent, strong, intelligent. Reid was no one's idea a gentlemen, let alone a decent human being. He wasn't even polite at the dinner table. What chance did Reid have of escaping the past? What chances could he possibly have of escaping the future?

He felt the warmth stir, and Vanessa rolled over onto her side. She was facing him now, eyes still closed, hair formed every which way. Her breath tickled his chest softly as he gazed down at her. What chance did Reid have of changing the way he lived, so that he did not end up like his parents?

Maybe not much, Reid decided, but a better life, without the pain, the heartbreak, of quickly slipping away and becoming something other than what you are, something that you genuinely despise with all of your heart... the chance to be with her, to have a family... Surely it was worth the try, to escape his father's mistakes, to make brand new ones of his own. Mistakes that did not involve magic, but not letting her pick the movie on movie night. Accidentally picking up the wrong candy in the movie theater, or fumbling her ring size at some grand proposal. Those would be his mistakes, that would be his life.

But it seemed impossible... He touched her cheek gently, smiling she curled into his hand. They could always just run away. Pack up a car, get on the road, and drive away from it all. Drive until they were ready to come back, a few years from now. See the world outside of Ipswich, outside of grand hotels and fancy cars, and gain a brand new perspective.

That was what she gave him. Perspective. Perfect, beautiful perspective, and hope. He watched one sleepy eye blink open, then another, gazing up at him lazily. She smiled gently. "What?" He loved it when she smiled.

"Nothing." Reid whispered. Vanessa bit her lip, wishing this quiet, peaceful moment could never end, and knowing that it would, just as every good moment from earlier had. The movie, what they'd done, in the guest room. Feeling his skin on hers, gentle caresses and soft, trailing kisses that opened the doors to ecstasy... all had ended, but would last forever.

"Liar." she accused. She had come to be able to read him. She understood what was behind his eyes now. The things he hid, the fears, the regrets. The pain, the bruises he didn't dare let anyone see. He had shown her. He had allowed her entrance into his life, his world. He had shown her the things he loved. He laughed.

"I was just admiring the way this sheet hides... absolutely nothing." Reid said, grabbing an end of the sheet. She shook her head.

"Liar." she replied, laughter in her eyes. "And these sheets cover me perfectly. It must be your dirty mind at work."

"You know, I've wanted to know what you looked like naked from the moment I first set eyes on you." Reid said seriously, brushing her messy hair out of her face. She scoffed.

"How romantic." Vanessa groaned. She wasn't surprised. Sure, her brothers had never come straight out and told her exactly what they thought of the women they dated and what had attracted them... but seriously, after walking in on them enough times, she'd learned quickly. Contortionists were an especially big hit among the male populace. It was slightly disgusting, but not entirely unpredictable. "I'll have you know that I've never thought of you naked." This piqued Reid's interest.

"You never thought of me naked?" Reid asked. Vanessa laughed.

"Oh no, not once." Vanessa said. "A naked you was the farthest thing from my mind." Reid's right eyebrow rose as he tried to process this information. A woman? Not wondering about his perfect curves? His well muscled arms and thighs? His perfectly sculpted chest? It wasn't possible.

"You're lying." Reid accused. Vanessa laughed.

"Not in the least." she replied. It was true. Naked Reid was not high on her agenda. World peace, getting her mother to talk to her again, finding some way to make Trevor all better and salvage whatever was left of her life – those were high priorities. Now, however, it seemed that she would have to add a naked Reid to her list more often. "Although now, I see the error the ways." she said, seeing his frowning expression.

"As all women should." Reid responded, feeling very full of himself. Vanessa shook her head.

"You are such a manwhore." she said. Reid scowled, causing Vanessa to laugh.

"Oh?" Reid asked. "Is that the technical term?"

"That is the universally accepted wording, yes." Vanessa replied. Reid shook his head, grinning.

"But it's not exactly politically correct, now is it?" Reid said. Vanessa was sure she was probably didn't want to ask the next question.

"Oh? And what is the politically correct term?" she asked.

"Man with exceptionally low standards." Reid said, a big smile plastered across his face. It sounded more... manly. Okay, now he just felt like an idiot.

"Oh, so you're a gigolo." Vanessa said, sounded interested. Reid made a face and shook his head.

"I can't speak to you anymore." he declared, looking back up at that bug on the ceiling. Vanessa sighed, pulling herself over and collapsing on his chest. She rested her ear just above his heart, enjoying the quiet thud, thud, thud of his heartbeat. It was reassuring somehow. "Do you see that bug on the ceiling?"

"Am I really that boring, that your new love is the bug on the ceiling?" Vanessa whined. She frowned a little when he laughed, his chest moving uncomfortably beneath her. Reid groaned.

"Look, it's not that the bug is more interesting than you are." Reid explained. "It's just that the bug has been staring at us for the past hour and a half."

"Okay... that's kinda creepy." Vanessa mumbled. Evidently, it wasn't all that creepy. She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat, and was soon taken by sleep again. Reid ran his hand through her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. He closed his eyes and made a mental photograph of the moment. Every detail, every curve of the sheets, every smell in the air, the warmth of her body against his... he wanted to be able to look back on it, years from then, and remember everything.

Oh, if he had a chance at happiness, he wasn't going to let it slip away...

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Everything changed. The way she looked at him. The way she spoke; tentative, unsure. She didn't know what to do with it, what to make of it. She couldn't comprehend it, she just didn't understand... "So... what you're saying is..." Elisha gazed anxiously at Tyler, swallowing back the tears that she couldn't deny. He was lying to her? It had to be a lie. It couldn't possibly be the truth, it was just too...

"When John Putnam threatened the Covenant, he was cast out. Exiled." Tyler said.

"So- so, is that what happened to Reid's dad?" Elisha asked, frowning. Tyler couldn't look her in the eyes. As hard as he tried, it wasn't a truth that he couldn't admit so easily. It wasn't a truth that he wanted to admit. That his family could do such a thing. _That I may have to do such a thing..._ Tyler looked down at the floor, shaking his head. Elisha felt like she was gasping for air, like it had suddenly become thin, and she couldn't breathe. "So he's... what, he's dead?" Tyler's eyes shot up to meet hers, the words that he didn't want to say conveyed through the darkness and the sorrow in his eyes. "So they killed him?" Tyler sighed and took a step toward her, but she jumped back. Her reaction didn't completely surprise him, but he couldn't deny that it cut him deeply. "So the Covenant is what, judge and jury?" Elisha snapped. She shook her head, running her hands through her hair and laughing. "This is... this is crazy." She glared up at Tyler. "I don't believe in magic. I- I don't..." She paused, wishing the words would come to her, but finding that they wouldn't. "I- I'm a Christian. I believe in God. I- I went to church every Sunday."

"Elisha..."

"Why are you telling me this?" Elisha asked, crying. "Why... I- I love you Tyler. Why are you telling me these things?" Tyler took a deep breath and stepped toward her again, encouraged by the fact that she didn't run from him again. He brushed her long blond hair away from her face and gazed down into her eyes. Raw emotion was shown on her face; fear, confusion... it made him feel sick.

"I'm telling you this because I love you." Tyler said firmly. "You need to know the truth." Elisha closed her eyes, choking back a sob, and touched his hand on the side of her face gently.

"What's going to happen?" Elisha asked, trying to speak through the lump in her throat. "To Reid?" Tyler shook his head.

"I don't know." he replied. It took him a moment to work up the courage before he could ask her the one question he wanted to ask. "What about us?" Elisha stared up at him, not knowing what to say. What was she supposed to say? He'd just told her that he'd inherited magical powers, that it was passed down through every male in his family line. That it was probably going to kill him one day, and that it had destroyed Reid's family completely and torn Caleb's apart.

"I- I don't..." she started, pausing for a moment before screaming at him. "God, Tyler, what the hell do you want from me?" Tyler's heart was aching. He truly loved her. He'd only known her for a few months, but he was desperately in love with her.

"I want you to be safe." Tyler answered. Elisha didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. Seconds ticked away in silence, and when she finally spoke, neither knew how much time had passed.

"I- I need to think." Elisha said simply. Tyler's heart sank in his chest. "Can I have some time to think?" Tyler wanted to scream. To tell her no, that they belonged together, that he knew with all of his heart that she was the girl he'd been waiting for. She was the only one he'd ever wait for. But he couldn't, and he didn't. He didn't want to scare her, but he had. He didn't want to put pressure on her, but the very nature of the thing was very overwhelming – he'd had nearly eighteen years to understand that. He'd have the rest of his life, however long that was, to fully understand that. He nodded, hoping so desperately beyond the ability that anyone had to hope that she would to come to see what he already knew.

He trudged reluctantly to the door, not wanting to leave her. Just being with her, being near her... it was like... home. He knew the years ahead of him would be hard. It wasn't pessimistic thinking, it was a historically proven fact. All of the sons had lost their families in one way or another. Sure, for he and Pogue they were still there. Sure, Caleb still had his mother. But families grow apart, and parents don't always know or do the best thing for their children. They had been faced with the fact that they were different, that their lives were probably doomed, long before any person should have to. They all dealt with it in different ways, the loss of their fathers as they slowly grew away from them, separation from the ones they loved; thinking you're going to die soon has a strange effect on people.

Pogue went around on his bike, a carefree daredevil to the world, just waiting for the day when it would strike him down. Caleb had learned to deal with it methodically, becoming responsible, taking care of his mother after his father grew too old to function. Reid looked for trouble; he practically begged for it to find him. Women, alcohol... he practically had a death wish.

But that wasn't Tyler's nature, and whether that was to his detriment or not, he didn't want that for himself. He had grown up how he'd grown up, becoming the person he was, and just as much he as couldn't fathom being any different, he didn't want to be any different. He loved Elisha. He wanted to be with her.

And so as he made his way down the hall to his dorm room, feeling sick and very, very alone, he made a silent wish that the clouds would part for him, just this once, and that he and Elisha would find each other.

He didn't want to be alone.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

"Hey, Mom. It's me again... Just calling to... see if you were talking to me, yet. I'm doing okay." Vanessa paused for a second before laughing. "I met a boy. He's kind of a trouble maker. He wears those horrible saggy jeans. He'd drive you crazy." Vanessa glanced out of the bathroom at the boy getting dressed and smiled. "He's exactly the kind of guy you used to me warn me about." she said. Reid frowned. "He's perfect." Reid smiled. She took a deep breath. "I really want to talk to you, Mom. I- I have so much to tell you. I love you, Mom." Vanessa pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up. She watched Reid pull a shirt over his head, giving Reid a smile as she admired his chest. "How hard do you have to work to get that way?" she asked curiously. He glanced at her, smirking.

"Oh this?" he asked, pointing down at his abs. "I was just born this way." Vanessa laughed. She set her phone down on the table by the window and took a seat on the bed. She sighed.

"So..." she mumbled. He frowned and gazed down at her.

"I'm fine." he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked, worried. Reid leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. She closed her eyes, savoring the feels of his lips on hers.

"I'm okay." Reid confirmed. He went for another kiss when Vanessa's phone rang. She groaned and glared over at the table. He laughed. "Answer it. I'll make out with you when you're done." Vanessa smiled and stood up, walking over to the window. She picked up the phone and clicked the talk button.

"Hello?" she asked, waiting for a response which never came. She frowned. "Hello? Anybody?" She was rewarded with silence. She hung up and glanced out the window, sighing, when something caught her eye. "Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing to a pendant hanging from a chain tied to the window lock. Reid came over next to her and looked at it.

"Oh, that's a wiccan protection amulet." Reid said. "I think there's one in every room in the house. We all have one."

"It's... familiar." Vanessa said, reaching up and looking it over. She'd seen it somewhere before, she was sure of it. Somewhere... on the tip of her tongue.

"A vision?" Reid asked, watching her turn it over in her hands. Vanessa frowned, shaking her head.

"No..." Vanessa replied. No, something else... someone... "A memory." She sighed and turned to Reid. "This... Covenant... are there records?" Reid thought for a moment.

"All of the journals and family records are kept in the old coven house." Reid said. "Why?"

"I think I'm missing something." Vanessa said. "I had a dream the other night. I was warning myself. Someone was coming. Someone named... Chase."

"Chase?" Reid growled. Vanessa nodded. So he does know him... "He's supposed to be dead."

"Who is he?" Vanessa asked. Reid shook his head, glaring murderously down at the protection amulet.

"Originally there were five families." Reid said. "But John Putnam was careless with his powers." Something Reid could relate to. "He was put at the mercy of the witch trials and executed, but he had a son."

"So Chase is the descendant of John Putnam." Vanessa said.

"He came here, a few months back, just as Caleb was ascending. He wanted him to will him his powers." Reid said. Vanessa gave him an uncomprehending look.

"Will him his powers?" Vanessa asked, frowning.

"Our powers are our life. The more of them we use, the faster we age." Reid explained. Vanessa thought for a moment. So Chase was addicted, and he'd already made one attempt to gain more power, so he must have been desperate. He was supposed to be dead, but obviously that wasn't so.

"So what does he want with me?" Vanessa whispered. Reid's eyes shot to her.

"What do you mean, he wants you?" Reid asked, worry written plainly across his face.

"In my dream, we were both there." She looked at Reid. "You were protecting me, and he wanted something. He wanted to make a deal. To save Tre-" She froze, the words getting caught in her throat momentarily. "To save Trevor's life." Reid rub her arm gently, and Vanessa leaned into him. "What does he want? Why is he coming back? I think if I look at the records... I might see something. Something might start to make some sense."

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Elisha paced back and forth in front of a door, thinking. I shouldn't be doing this... Tyler had told her those things in confidence. She couldn't break his trust. Of course, none of it could be true. It couldn't possibly be true. She didn't believe in those kinds of things. So it couldn't hurt to talk to someone... she needed to talk to someone... She stopped in front of the door, her fist inches away, poised to knock.

It had been two years... two long, hard years that she'd been going to Spenser. She was a scholarship student. Her family had had almost no money, and she was surprised when she'd won the scholarship to attend. Her older sister had been so proud of her. She was going to go to a good school, get a good education, go on to a good college... Her parents had died a few years back, and her sister had taken her in. She'd quit college and gotten a job bar tending to take of her younger sister. Elisha and her sister had always been close... and then she'd seen him, and everything had changed.

She sighed, shaking her head to get rid of the memories and bring her back to the moment. She knocked wearily, still unsure of what she was doing. Would she only end up causing trouble? She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do. She heard footsteps stomping across the floor inside the house, and knew who they belonged to. Kate had never been one to step lightly. Her mother was a dancer, and she had inherited a certain grace, but nothing compared to her mother.

Kate peaked out the window and smiled, running over to the door and opening it, smiling brightly at Elisha. "Elisha!" Kate greeted her happily.

"Can I talk to you?" Elisha asked. Kate's face fell, and she knew something was serious was going on. It had been two long, hard years that Spenser had been a part of Elisha's life, before Elisha had really come to feel that she even had a life. She closed her eyes and took a step inside her friend's house, praying that she wasn't about to undo everything.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked. Elisha followed her to the living room, where they curled up on the floor by the couch and Kate listened intently to Elisha.

"Tyler... he... we... he came to see me last night." Elisha said. Kate nodded solemnly.

"You heard about Reid's mother." Kate said. "It's so terrible. Mrs. Garwin was always such a sweet person." Elisha stared at her for a moment, doubting herself. Maybe it wasn't... so big... maybe Kate already knew?

"Do you know?" Elisha asked. "Did... did Pogue tell you?" Kate frowned, confused.

"About Reid's mother?" she asked. Elisha looked down at the floor. Questions... that was all that she had. Questions. Nothing made sense, now. She couldn't form words. She couldn't find the right words to talk to Kate.

"Do you know about the Covenant?" Elisha asked suddenly, surprising even herself. But if Kate knew, she was a damned good actress. She showed no sign of understanding what Elisha was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked. "What 'Covenant'?" Elisha sighed.

"Tyler... he came to see me." Elisha said. "He told me... that something big had happened. You know the story about the five founding families?" Kate laughed.

"Oh, Elisha, everyone knows that story." Kate said. "It's just a ghost story."

"John Putnam was burned alive during the witch trials. That all of the families are witches? They all have powers?" Kate frowned, leaning toward Elisha.

"Wait, what?"

"All five families have powers, and only John Putnam was prosecuted during the witch trials. The powers are all passed on through the first born male in the family." Elisha said, giving her the cliff notes version of what Tyler had told her. "All four of the sons claim to have supernatural abilities." Kate watched her seriously for a moment before bursting out into laughter.

"You're good." Kate said, pointing at her. "You're really good, but for the record, it's not cool to try and shit around the most popular girl in school."

"I'm not kidding!" Elisha yelled. "He said that these... these powers are horrible. That they're addictive, and that it nearly killed Caleb's father, and Reid's dad was so blinded by using them that he killed Reid's mother! He said that the Covenant couldn't let that happen. He said that they-" she froze mid-sentence. "He said that they killed him." Kate just stared, not speaking a word, for what seemed like forever. Elisha didn't know what to do, and something deep in the pit of her stomach gave her the distinct impression that she'd just done exactly what she didn't want to do. She had just told Kate, the most popular girl in Spenser Academy, that her boyfriend was actually a witch, and was apparently lying to her. But then her facial expression started to change. It went from confusion to anger, and after a long pause, Kate stood up and slid on her shoes.

"Excuse me." she snapped, heading to the door. Elisha jumped as she heard it slam closed. Oh no... She put her face in her hands, feeling completely lost. What have I done? What am I going to do? She leaned back, resting her head on the floor and looking up at the ceiling.

Two long years, and she'd been admiring him for afar ever since she first set foot in the school. Then, a few months ago, everything changed. She'd gotten in trouble... She'd missed a class, and a vindictive teacher sent her to the principle, who sent her to counselor, who decided that she merely needed another extracurricular activity. She was punished by having to join the swim team, but for all of the things that Elisha knew, she had no idea how to swim.

So she went to the pool, intent on changing the teacher's mind, but he wouldn't hear of it. Instead, he lectured her on discipline. To make things worse, he brought his four best swimmers in on the lecture, and Tyler greeted her with a gentle smile.

Of course she explained that she couldn't swim, so the teacher assigned someone to help her. Reid had originally volunteered, but the teacher quickly rejected that, referencing 'last time', and how he was still finding lacy undergarments all around his office, so she'd been assigned to Tyler. She smiled. He'd been so nice... always making sure to overwhelm her, to be patient and listen carefully. She'd had such a crush on him. And then he'd asked her out, and she'd been too afraid to say anything.

When she was moping in her room that night, thinking she'd screwed everything up and that she should have taken him up on dinner, he showed up at her door with flowers and pizza. Elisha laughed at the memory. She laughed at the thought of the time when she'd told him she was joining the cheer leading team, and he'd ogled her while watching her audition cheer. She thought of all of the times that he'd made her laugh, or the times that he'd comforted her when she needed him.

She sighed, thinking of the times before that day, when she used to hide behind the school, in the garden, and all she could do sing, and she'd swear that she'd seen him, or smell his cologne, and she'd know that he was there. He'd always been there, she thought, even in the moments when she didn't thought anyone else noticed her, he'd been watching. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "What am I doing here?" she asked herself simply.

She hadn't needed to talk to Kate. She'd just needed to take a step back. She'd just needed a chance to think, to change her perspective. She'd just needed a chance to overcome the initial confusion and anxiety and remember what she'd known all along, ever since he'd shown up that day with flowers and pizza. She belonged with him...

They belonged with each other.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

The room was dark, lined with book shelves arranged in a circle. There was an old wooden table in the middle, surrounded on all sides by candles, and the smoke from the flames made Vanessa's nose itch. The walls seemed to resonate and hum, but not audibly; not on a level that Vanessa could hear. She could feel memories, from days long past, and the power of the people that had come before her. The room was drenched it. It hung in the air, both welcoming her to a sacred haven, and somehow sending chills down her spine. It was humid and tense, and Vanessa felt as though she was being drawn in by something, or someone.

Vanessa heard Reid sigh beside her. "What are you looking for?"

"I don't know." Vanessa said, frowning. She took small, careful steps around the room, unsure of exactly what she was doing, until she had grown so lost in the act that it was as though she was no longer moving, but the ground beneath her was. She paced around the room softly, drifting between shelves for a long moment, before stopping in front of one in particular.

Vanessa ran her hands across the book bindings, closing her eyes. She tried to open her mind, to close off the part of her brain that was always thinking, always calculating, and focus on what she needed to find. She reached out and grabbed the edge of a book, pulling it off the shelf, and opening her eyes again. She gazed down at it. "What's this?" she asked, glancing back at Reid. He came over beside her and looked down at it.

"It's the genealogy records." he said, examining the cover. "Every coven in the Covenant has a set of text, tracing the families back for generations. Names, dates..." Reid touched the small of her back gently, trying to hide his worry from his features. Taking her here was... exposing... and not just to him, but to the others as well.

"What am I supposed to find here..." Vanessa whispered to herself. "What does he want from me?"

Reid followed Vanessa across the room to a table. She curled down on her knees and set the book down in front of her, glancing at Reid as he took a seat on the other side and waited for her to continue. She took a deep breath and opened the book, making sure to be as gentle as possible as she turned the pages that were fragile from age.

Page, after page, after page, she turned them carefully, her eyes scanning for something, anything, familiar. Vanessa moved closer to Reid and leaned against him as she continued on through the book. An hour passed, then two, and Reid asked if she was sure she'd found the right book. She shrugged off the question and continued, ignoring the next hour as it passed them by in the dusty room. Her eyes were getting tired and her hands were getting sore as generation after generation passed before her eyes. She was about ready to give up as she neared the end of the book. "Oh my god."

"What?" Reid asked, gazing down over her shoulder. Then suddenly, he realized what had surprised her. There, in the middle of the page, was the name _Vanessa Winchester Reynolds._ The information listed said she was born December 13th, to Charlotte Swinson, who was the only child of Lord William Swinson in Manchester. "You're Lord Swinson's granddaughter?" Reid asked. Vanessa pushed the book away, shaking her head.

"No. No, my mother was adopted." Vanessa said. "She was the only daughter of Sarah and James Parker. She was raised in North Dakota, for god's sakes." She took a deep breath. "Is my mother a member of the Covenant?" Vanessa asked in disbelief. Reid sighed and shook his head.

"The powers are passed to the eldest son, never to a woman." Reid answered. "Having only a daughter is considered the death of a line - the magic is gone." Vanessa's mind reeled with the information. Her mother was the only child of a lord; a lord who had given her up.

"If the line is dead, then why is she here?" Vanessa asked. "Why am _I_ here?" She stared blankly down at the page.

"There's more." Reid said suddenly, jumping up and pointing at the page. Vanessa slide forward and read the entry.

"Vadoma Garwin, daughter of Reid Garwin and Vanessa Reynolds. Born Nov-..." Vanessa paused for a moment. "Born November 7th, 2009." Vanessa stumbled over the words, reading them and rereading them again and again. "Why is..."

"I used protection!" Reid yelled suddenly. Vanessa glared at him and punched his arm.

"Don't be an idiot." she snapped. He glared at her and rubbed his arm tenderly.

"Hey, you're the one who's pregnant!" he said, scowling. Vanessa fought the urge to throttle him and she glared across the table at him.

"Yes, Reid, I'm pregnant. And I'm going to be carrying the baby for over a year and a half." she growled. "Look at the date." He took a few tentative steps towards the book again and read the entry. "2009."

"So..." It took Reid a moment for all of the information to sink in. "So... you're not pregnant?"

"_**No.**_" Vanessa answered him sourly. "So why is our _daughter_ listed in this book when she hasn't even been conceived yet?" The book couldn't be telling the future - could it? There were strict magical laws and orders that forbade such a thing from happening. It was one thing to glimpse, through card reading and visions, but it was quite another thing to leave a sign, a _proof_, such as this, in plain view. It was irresponsible.

She ran her fingers over the entry, closing her eyes. Surely, she'd feel _something_... She sighed, frowning for a long moment. Reid watched as her features turned from mildly annoyed and distress, to a gentle smile. It made him nervous.

"What? What is it?" Reid asked, trying to hide his worry. She opened her eyes slowly and gave him a gentle smile. "What?" Vanessa closed the book and leaned back.

"I don't get it." Reid said. Vanessa smirked.

"Me neither." Vanessa replied. She looked up at Reid. "Tell me more about Chase." He turned to her sharply, an indignant scowl on his normally handsome features.

"What more do you need to know?"

"What happened, _exactly_?"

"He grew addicted before he knew the side effects. He killed his parents, then he came here." Reid saw Vanessa's confused expression and explained. "Our powers are our life force, right? But when you're younger, you can only use a little. Once we ascend, they nearly triple in strength."

"So what did he want?" she asked, trying to fit pieces of a puzzle together in her head. Reid sighed, unsure of quite how to explain.

"Chase thought that if he had enough power, he could beat the side effects." Reid said. "He wanted more. See, you can will your power to others, give them your strength."

"But, if it's your life force..." Vanessa murmured, beginning to understand.

"It's at the expense of your own life." Reid finished.

"But what happened? Where is he now?" she asked.

"He wanted Caleb to will him his powers. He was the first to ascend. When Caleb tried to stop him, he took Sarah and almost killed her." Reid took a seat beside her, wearily recalling all of the memories. "Caleb's dad willed his power to Caleb so that he would be strong enough to-" Reid froze, looking away from her. Vanessa watched him carefully.

"But he didn't die, did he?" Vanessa asked, breaking the stubborn silence. Reid couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"They never found a body." Reid said slowly. Vanessa glared down at the book again and thought for a long moment. So Chase was at the edge, desperate for a way to keep himself from suffering. It still didn't explain what he wanted from her. She didn't have any of the Covenant's powers, and she couldn't will anything to him and or somehow keep him alive.

"When do you ascend?" she asked suddenly.

"In a month, to the day." Reid replied. Vanessa laughed lightly and Reid realized that wasn't what she meant. "The second it turns midnight on your eighteen birthday."

"And you said, the magic dies when a woman continues the line?"

"Yeah." Reid said, frowning. "Why?"

"Because I turn eighteen Tuesday morning, and he wants something from me." Vanessa said. Reid jumped up suddenly, a mix of anger and worry and pure loathing across his face as he started to pace.

"No." Reid said firmly, refusing to accept her words. "It must be something else. Maybe... maybe it's like...a spell... or a curse!" Reid declared suddenly. "Yeah, like on Buffy!"

"Who?" Vanessa asked.

"Is there a gypsy spell to live forever?" Reid suggested. Vanessa laughed and shook her head.

"Of course not. Gypsy magic is powerful, and it does prolong our life." Vanessa admitted. "But only for a while. Nothing can live forever." She said. "Well, nothing except the Fae."

"The Fae?" Reid asked, ceasing to pace for a moment.

"The Fae." Vanessa confirmed. "You know, Fae. Faerie folk."

"Faeries are real?" Reid asked incredulously. She nodded.

"They're like... the center access point for all magical beings." Vanessa said. Reid frowned.

"Huh?" Vanessa laughed.

"Okay, magic comes from nature." Vanessa said. "It's in everything. The trees, the wind, the sun, the moon. There's magic from the water, from the earth... The Fae are sort of... visual representations of that power. They're a part of the magic of nature. They're... from the earth itself." Reid grinned.

"No way..."

"Yes way." Vanessa said. She stood up and walked over to him. "Look, you know all those stories about how our ancestors were infinitely stronger than we were." she asked. Reid nodded. "Well, it's true. They were. The magic that we're able to use now is only a fraction of the power they had back then. It's been slowly dying for the past thousand years."

"Why?"

"Global warming." Vanessa said. Reid burst out laughing. "It's true. When nature begins to die, the magic grows weak."

"But the Fae live forever?"

"The Fae live as long as magic lives. But when nature begins to suffer, the magic grows weaker and weaker, and the Fae begin to die." Vanessa said. "If the Fae die, it's the death of magic. Why do you think so many people are starting to get so crazy about the environment?"

"The entire magical world is banding together to go green?" Reid asked, grinning.

"Just because you're from a magical line, that doesn't mean you can use magic." Vanessa said, referring specifically to what Reid explained earlier. "And just because you were born without power, it doesn't mean you _can't_ use magic. To a certain extent, everyone can use magic. Everyone can _feel_ magic." Vanessa frowned. "Does he know that the power can't be passed to a woman?"

"What?" Reid asked, unable to follow her sudden change of subject.

"Does Chase know that the magic can't be passed to a woman?" she asked again. Reid froze and closed his eyes, rubbing his head.

"I don't know." Reid said. "Probably not."

"How much _does_ he know?" Vanessa asked. Reid sighed.

"I don't know." he said. Vanessa walked over to him and took his hands in hers, gazing up at him seriously.

"Reid, I think he wants me to will my powers to him." Vanessa said. "He wants me to make some kind of deal." _I'm running out of ideas..._

"I won't let that happen to you." Reid whispered to her, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her. _I won't let anything happen to you. _"I love you."

"I love you." she whispered back.

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It was late afternoon when Kate arrived at the Parry mansion. The long, spiraling driveway was scorched, hot in the afternoon sun, and the gardeners were going about their business, trimming plants back and watering here and there. She stood for a moment, glaring at the lawn and Pogue's mother's carefully selected flower arrangements, before jumping up the steps and pounding on the front door. She was fumed for a few long moments before there was any sign that someone had heard her, and she was greeted by a butler opening the door. "Miss Kate, how nice to-"

"Move it, Henry." she snapped, brushing past him. She stomped her way through the foyer to the stairs.

"But you can't jus-"

"Shut up, Henry!" Kate yelled in between huffs and she practically ran up the stairs, doing her best to be as loud as she possibly could be. She made a mental note to put in more time at the gym. "Pogue!" she yelled. "Pogue, get your ass out here!" When she made it up the stairs, she charged down the hall and pounded on his bedroom door furiously. There was some shuffling inside, but a second later, Pogue answered the door.

"Kate? What are you doing here?" Pogue asked, confusion written plainly across his face. Kate glared up at him, unsure of what to do next. She'd been mad, and charged over here, but to do what, exactly? What could she do?

"Explain it to me." Kate demanded. "This... covenant." If Kate hadn't believed that something was going on before, despite the fact that everything Elisha said had to be some sort of crazy lie told to her by Tyler (she kind of felt bad for Elisha for being so gullible), she sure that there was something up by the look on Pogue's face. He scratched his head sheepishly and tried to hide any hint of surprise or recognition.

"Covenant?" Pogue asked. "What are you..."

"I just got a visit from Elisha, who just got a visit from Tyler, and apparently he told her some pretty crazy things about his family, and your family, and everybody's families. I just wanted to check and see if anything they said was true. If there was anything important that I should know. Anything that my _boyfriend_ should be telling me, that he's not." Kate snapped. Pogue sighed. "It's not true, is it? I mean, none of that could be true. It's just... it's not possible, and Tyler's lying his ass off, and if he thinks that I'm gonna let him get away with-"

"He's..." Pogue paused for a moment before continuing. "He's not lying." Kate's eyes shot wide open.

"What?"

"How much do you know?" Pogue asked. Kate couldn't believe her ears. Not lying?

"There's a covenant, there's power. People are dying, like Reid's mom." Kate said quickly. "But it's not true. It can't be true. Pogue, what the hell is going on?" She leaned in close to him. "Are you guys all... smoking marijuana or something?" Pogue grabbed her hand and pulled her into his room, taking a careful look down the hall before closing the door and turning to face her. He took a deep breath and a few minutes to think.

"What Tyler told Elisha was... true." Pogue said. "We all took a covenant of silence when we discovered our powers, everyone in our family does. Tyler probably told Elisha because of what happened with Reid's mother."

"What happened with Reid's mother?" Kate asked. She shook her head. "Pogue, this is all... insane."

"Look, you don't know what it's like..." Pogue told her. "Having the ability to do... anything. Everything you could possibly imagine."

"Anything you could imagine?" Kate asked. "Like, buying all the dresses at Bendals, or..." Kate tried to think of the most ridiculous thing she could. "Or, having sex while flying through the air, like Superman?"

"Both." Pogue replied. "Anything, but-"

"Well, then, I don't understand the problem." Kate said quickly. "Or why you had to hide it from me. I mean, we've been going out since our freshmen year at Spencer, and I'm only now finding out that my boyfriend had magical powers."

"You can't use the power that way." Pogue said. Kate raised an eyebrow.

"But you just said you could. You just say you could do anything." Kate replied.

"Yes, bu-"

"Well, fine, let's see it then." Kate said, folding her arms over her chest. Pogue went to say something, but Kate cut him off with a quick "Come on, let's see it." and Pogue had no choice but to do what she said. He had to explain, to make her understand... _Damn Tyler_... He pointed at a cup sitting on his desk, and Kate watched as the cup slowly began to move, inch by inch, to the other side. "I- it's a trick."

"Kate-"

"It's all just a trick." Kate said, opening the bedroom door. She stormed out into the hall, Pogue following close behind her. "It's all just a stupid trick." She picked something up off the table in the hall and before Pogue had a chance to stop, she turned around and threw it as hard as she could. He watched it, almost in slow motion, as it threw through the air and smashed in the grandfather clock before he could do anything. By the time he'd reacted and used his power, just as she'd wanted, the pieces were shattered and falling to the ground, froze mid-air by his using. She stared at it, jaw dropped. "It's not a trick."

"You smashed the clock!" Pogue exclaimed. "That's my mom's favorite clock! It's a family heirloom!"

"Everything... everything about the power, the covenant, it was all true. You can do anything." Kate said, her own words surprising her. She turned to Pogue.

"You could... God, you could rig the stock market. You could... you could make sure you graduate from school and college. You could have the world. You..." Kate laughed. "You could have anything. You could have everything."

"Kate, listen to me, the power can't be used that way." Pogue yelled, trying to make her understand. She glared at him.

"Why? Because of some stupid covenant?" Kate asked. "Come on, Pogue, thousands of people do that stuff every day. No one actually follows through with any of it."

"It will kill me." Pogue said. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Stop being so melodramatic." Kate said. "Look at the bigger picture, Pogue. Just think about it."

"No."

"You have all this power, and you're not going to use it for anything?" Kate asked. "Nothing at all? Come on, Pogue, people would kill to be able to do what you do. You have a gift, you shouldn't waste it. You should use it."

"By rigging the stock market?" Pogue asked, giving her a disgusted look.

"Or... go to Vegas. Buy a plane. Hell, buy a fleet of planes!" Kate exclaimed. "Or-"

"Enough."

"Bu-"

"Kate, enough!" Pogue yelled. Kate stared at him. "I can't. I won't." Kate scoffed.

"Pogue-"

"Maybe... you should go." Pogue said, leaning against the wall. He didn't want to make her leave, but he didn't want to think about it, any of it. The actions of Reid's father had cut them all very deeply, and none of them knew what to do with it, Pogue could understand that. But he didn't need, and couldn't take, hearing all of this from Kate. Not after what had happened, while he was still waiting for his father to get home.

"What?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Kate, I just..." She looked at him and chuckled bitterly.

"Pogue Parry, you're a piece of work."

"Kate..." Kate turned around and walked away from him, storming down the steps and running to the front door. She took a quick glance back at him before slamming the door closed behind her and running down the driveway to her car.

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Tyler looked up from his bed at Elisha standing in the door of his dorm room. She leaned against the wall for support, blond hair messy and falling in her eyes. He wanted to walk over to her, to brush the hair out of her face and give kiss so hard she couldn't breathe. "Hey..."

"Hey." She glanced around.

"Is... is it okay if I come in?" she asked tentatively. He nodded. She took a few steps into the room and closed the door behind her, before walking over to him. "I think... earlier... it was dumb, what I did." She looked down at her shoes for a moment and thought, before continuing with what she had to say. "I love you Tyler. I really, really love you. I love how... whenever you come back from the guys, all you want to do is complain to me about how everyone calls you baby boy. I love... how you call your parents up in the middle of the night, just to see how everything's going. I love that you and your brother are like best friends, even though you're four grades apart."

"Even though, he still-"

"doesn't get that." they finished. Elisha sighed.

"If I love you, it shouldn't matter, about this whole covenant thing, and what you can do..." Elisha said. "None of it's important. What's important to me is you." Tyler smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"I love you so much..." Tyler said. She smiled, then frowned again suddenly. Tyler gave her a worried look. "What is it?"

"I... Earlier... I needed someone to talk to, so I went to Kate and..."

"You told her?" Tyler asked. Elisha nodded. "Pogue is gonna kill me."

"I think she left, mad." Elisha said. "I didn't mean to..."

"It'll be okay." Tyler said. "We can handle it." Elisha breathed a sigh of relief and curled up on the bed next to him. They leaned back and curled into each other, wishing they could stay that way forever.

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"What are you doing now?" Reid asked, frowning as he watched Vanessa flip through some books in front of her. He was sitting next to her on his bed in the guest room, frowning as he watched her.

"I need a plan." Vanessa said. "There has to be something we can do." Reid wrapped his arms around and pulled her back form the books.

"Maybe what we need to do is rest." he suggested. "'Ness, you've been at this all day. You've been through nearly all the books downstairs."

"It doesn't help." Vanessa said. "I know there's something magical that I can do, that I _do_ do, but I can't figure out what it is. Everything that I know, I barely remember from when I was a really little kid." Reid sighed.

"What can I do?" he asked. Vanessa leaned back against him and shook her head.

"I don't know." she said. "I'm... I'm just out of ideas." Reid closed his eyes and leaned his chin on her head, breathing in the faint scent of her perfume. She needed a break, Reid could give her that. He pushed the books in front of her off the bed. "Hey!"

"Shhh..." Reid whispered. He pushed her back and they curled up under the blankets. Vanessa curled into him and closed her eyes, feeling her fatigue finally beginning to take hold of her. It didn't take long before she fell asleep, and she didn't get to stay asleep very long either. A few moments later, someone knocked at the door. Reid groaned. "What?" he barked at whoever was knocking. The door opened a little and butler, who was holding something in his hand, took a small step into the room.

"There's for a package for Ms. Reynolds." he said. Vanessa rolled over and sat up.

"A package?" Vanessa asked. "From who? Who would send something here?"

"Does anyone know you're here?" Reid asked. Vanessa frowned.

"Only you guys and Elisha." she answered. "I'll take it." The butler walked over to the bed and handed it to her, leaving quietly. It was a half size manila envelope with her name printed clearly on the front. She flipped it over in her hands a few times before ripping the top of it open and gazing down inside. She turned it upside down and caught a card in her hand, holding it up so she could examine it.

"What is it?" Reid asked. Vanessa stared at it, unsure of what to think. She showed it to him. "The High Priestess?" he asked. "A tarot card?" He looked to her. "What does it mean?"

"Grandmama..." Vanessa whispered.

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Kate trudged through the doors and wove around desks until she found someone she recognized. The person jumped when he saw her. "Ms. Tunney... this is a little sooner than I was hoping to see you."

"Det. Gibson, there's something you should know about Reid's mother..."

**I know... you hate me, right? I do so love throwing in those horrible cliffhangers... well, I didn't get to do as good a job of proof reading this as I usually do. of course, I usually end up missing a few things that need fixing anyway, and then I go back and reread everything, and I want to hit myself over the head with a heavy club... but uh, sorry if it was very bad. Like I said, it's been crazy...**

So, I was going through one of my old english textbooks the other day, just to review, and I came across one of those classic exercises: describe yourself in five words. So, here are my five words. Neurotic, eclectic, egocentric, caffeinated, nervous... so, how about you guys?


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